Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters
by JayManney4Life
Summary: Excited by learning about a new card game from her friends, Usagi Tsukino visits a game shop in town and prepares to plunge into the exciting world of Duel Monsters... Pretty much discontinued. I might come back at some point and rewrite it, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. Was a fun ride while it lasted.
1. Chapter 1

So yeah, this is my sort of grand return to fan fiction. Not sure how well I'll do with it, but... I'll certainly give it my best shot.

-o-o-o-

Disclaimer: You guys should all know the drill by now. You've read these things enough times, so you already know that I neither own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Sailor Moon. If I did, I've be living it up big time with all the money made from the royalties, not to mention I'd have every piece of merchandise and every YGO card there is... but I don't, so I'll have to settle for owning the plot to this story, and whatever things I may possibly make up for it.

-o-o-o-

Usagi couldn't help but smile as she walked in through the front door of the quaint little game shop, the bell atop of the door jingling and signaling that someone had entered. Truthfully, she'd heard about the place from Umino while he'd been bugging her for advice on how to ask Naru out on a date, but the way he'd made it sound had made the bubbly blond curious, and after getting the address from him promising she'd try to get the redhead to agree to go out with him, she'd gathered her books and stuff together after class and came straight there.

All around her, there were shelves and book cases with different games and puzzles, various paraphernalia from different role-playing games, to even strategy guides for video and computer games, but the thing that got Usagi's attention was at the front of the shop, namely the glass case with all the various cards inside of it. Kneeling down in front of the glass case, Usagi stared at all the different cards arranged on the clear shelves inside of it, 'ooh'ing and 'ahh'ing when she saw anything really good, reminding her of how excited she'd been when she first learned about the game...

Flashback

"Hey guys, what're you doing?" Usagi asked, leaning over the side of the coffee table in Makoto's apartment, two of her friends locked in a game at the moment.

"Just a moment Usagi-chan, I've almost got this wrapped up," Makoto grinned, drawing a card from a small group she had in her hand and placing it on her side of the two game mats between her and Ami. "Okay Ami-chan, say your prayers, for I sacrifice my two face down monsters to play this, my Black Tyranno in attack mode!" Removing two cards from her side of the table, Makoto placed a card with a picture of a black and red tyrannosaurus rex on the table, grinning, "and since your monsters are all in defense mode, I get to attack you directly, say goodbye to your Life points!"

Ami just smiled calmly and shook her head, "Sorry Mako-chan, but the only one who's Life points will be hitting zero is you. Revealing trap card." Reaching out to her side of the table, the blue haired young genius flipped over one of her cards, revealing what looked like a set of tubes.

Makoto blushed, "Not Magic Cylinder."

Ami grinned, "That's right, and thanks to it, I get to negate the attack of your monster and inflict damage equal to its attack to your Life points. And since you were down to only 1500, that means the game goes to me."

Makoto sighed and slumped back against the couch, then gave Ami a soft smile before offering her her hand, "I didn't expect you to be so good at this, Ami-chan."

Ami giggled softly, "Well, I can't spend all my time in my textbooks, now can I? All work and no play isn't good for you." She smiled, taking the offered hand and shaking it.

Usagi, having stayed quiet throughout the remaining moments of the game, decided to try and speak up again, "So what were you guys playing again?"

Makoto smiled, "A collectible card game that came out a few years ago, it's called Duel Monsters, and it was created by a man from the United States by the name of Pegasus J. Crawford. I heard he's really attractive," she sighed, getting hearts in her eyes like she often did thinking of guys who looked like her old boyfriend.

Giggling at that, Ami nodded and joined in, "It's really neat, you put together a deck of cards with different types of monsters, spells and traps, and you play against other opponents, or 'duelists' as you're called, and the object of the game is to battle one another until one side's life points are down to zero or they run out of cards. It takes a lot of strategy and planning, but it's really fun and enjoyable once you get the hang of it."

Usagi grinned, "Wow that sounds really cool, do you think you can teach me to play?"

"I don't see why not," Ami said, before moving over some to let Usagi sit down beside her, gathering her cards back together into her deck...

End of Flashback

After Ami and Makoto had explained the rules and concepts of the game of Duel Monsters to her over and over again, Usagi had started saving her money to find some decent cards to build herself a deck with, but with school and everything else she'd been dealing with over the last couple of weeks, she hadn't really had time to look around anywhere until now.

"Can I help you, young lady?" A voice came from behind Usagi, surprising her and making her lose her balance on her heels, falling back comically. Shaking her head, Usagi got up slowly and turned around, only to look down some in surprise.

Standing in front of her was a little old man in green overalls and black shoes, with a white long-sleeved shirt underneath. A silver beard and spiky gray hair were topped with a black bandanna, and he smiled up at her with a youthful spirit in his violet eyes despite his obvious old age. "Forgive me for startling you miss; I'm the owner of this shop. You seemed so entranced with the cards that I thought I'd see if there was anything you were interested in." Offering a hand to her, he smiled and continued, "Sugoroku Mutou is my name, and selling toys and games to boys and girls of all ages is my game."

Usagi smiled, finding the old man to be quite charming, and shook his hand when he offered it, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mutou, my name is Usagi Tsukino. You have a really nice shop and really neat cards as well." She said, "I'm trying to put together a deck to play Duel Monsters with, but..." She paused, not sure what to say.

Sugoroku chuckled, "Let me guess, you're not sure where to start?" Seeing the blush and nod from Usagi, he smiled, "Do not worry my dear, you're not the first person to come into my shop confused about deck building."

Happy to have any sort of help, Usagi smiled and listened to what Sugoroku had to say. Walking behind the counter, the old man picked up a small stack of cards, then set them out one at a time on top of the case. "As you probably know, there are three basic types of cards in Duel Monsters: your monster cards, your spell cards, and your trap cards."

Getting a nod out of Usagi, Sugoroku continued, "For all three of these types, there are also sub-types. For example, you have four types of monster cards: Normal, Effect, Fusion, and Ritual monsters."

"Normal, Effect, Fusion, and Ritual monsters?" Usagi asked, and Sugoroku nodded.

"Normal monsters are the yellow monster cards which generally have a small description of the monster on the bottom of the card. Effect monsters are a burnt orange color, and have special abilities that can usually help you in a duel, much like the spell or trap cards." Smiling, Sugoroku looked up at Usagi, "Keeping up with me so far?" Getting another nod out of the young blonde, he continued, "Fusion monsters are the purple monster cards, and they are created by combining two or more other monsters, usually with the help of spell cards like Polymerization or Fusion Gate, though there are certain fusion monsters that can be combined without Polymerization. Finally, you have your Ritual monsters, the blue monster cards. These monsters are summoned by spell cards called ritual spells, and usually have some sort of requirement, such as sacrificing monsters with a certain number of stars on them."

Usagi did her best to pay attention, which wasn't hard seeing as Sugoroku made things really sound interesting. The old man smiled, enjoying sharing his vast knowledge with the younger generation, and plus, it wasn't everyday he got such a pretty young lady to talk to, so he did his best to make sure he didn't go over her head. "Next, we go to the attributes and monster types. All monster cards fall under six different attributes: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Light, and Dark, which are represented by the circles at the top right corner of the cards with the appropriate kanji, text, and corresponding colors: brown, red, green, blue, yellow, and purple."

Usagi thought about it for a moment, trying to remember everything he'd said, "Brown for Earth, red for Fire, green for Wind, blue for Water, yellow for Light, and purple for Dark, right?"

Sugoroku smiled and nodded, "That's right... you're getting this a lot better than my grandson's friends did at first, I'm impressed. Now, let's see, where was I? Oh yes, monster types." Taking a minute to think, he then cleared his throat and continued, "There are exactly twenty types of monsters: Dragons, Spellcasters, Zombies, Warriors, Beast-Warriors, Beasts, Winged Beasts, Fiends, Fairies, Insects, Dinosaurs, Reptiles, Fish, Sea Serpents, Machines, Thunder, Aqua, Pyro, Rock, and Plants. You can find what type of monster your card is by looking for the next underneath the picture on the card, and it usually shows whether it's an Effect, Ritual, or Fusion monster as well, not to mention some of the sub-types, like Union, Toon, or Spirit monsters, but I'll get into those later."

Usagi was genuinely impressed, hanging on Sugoroku's every word, "Wow, you sure know a lot about the game, Mr. Mutou."

Sugoroku just grinned, "Well it's one I happen to enjoy a great deal, so I try to stay as versed in it as I can...Gathering up the monster cards back into the pile he'd had to start with, the old man set them aside and gestured to the other ones on the counter, "Now that you've gotten a better understanding of the monster cards, we can move on to the other two types of cards in your deck: Spells and Traps."

"Spell cards are the green cards with the special effects, right?" Usagi asked, remembering some of the things Ami and Makoto had told her.

"That's right." Sugoroku replied, "There are seven types of Spell cards: Normal spells, Equip spells, Field spells, Quick-Play spells, Ritual spells, Continuous spells, and Counter spells. Spell cards are very useful in a duel, they can do anything from boosting the attack or defense of your monster cards, to clearing the entire field in one fell swoop, some can even bring cards back from the graveyard to your hand or the field."

Usagi thought for a moment, "Ritual spells, those are the ones used to summon Ritual monsters like you said earlier, right? And the Field spells; they're the ones that change the whole dueling field to help certain types of monsters?"

The old man grinned, "Very good, you're catching on fast. Normal spells are usually only used for one turn, while Continuous spells last more than one turn depending on what their conditions are. Equip spells can be added on to your monsters or to your opponent's monster under certain conditions, and can either be helpful or harmful to them depending on the situation. Finally, the Quick-Play spells can be used at any phase in your turn, and sometimes even in your opponent's turn when played face-down." Gathering up the spells just as he had with the monsters, Sugoroku returned them to the pile as well, leaving only the traps out. "Now, last but not least, the Trap cards. They work similar to the spell cards, except they can be used at any time in the duel, even in your opponent's turn, but not in the turn they were set. There are three types of trap cards in the game: Normal trap cards, Continuous trap cards, and Counter trap cards. As the general rule, normal traps work for one turn only, while continuous traps continue to work even after the turn they were summoned, and counter traps are usually activated as a reaction to the activation of another card, with the intent to counter or destroy the card it's reacting to."

Usagi nodded her head some, trying to keep up, "Normal traps work only once, Continuous traps continue working, and Counters react to other traps or spells?"

"Right, excellent," Sugoroku chuckled, "You keep this up, and I'm sure you'll have no trouble learning the game properly."

Usagi smiled and blushed, "Well, I have had help, my friends were trying to teach me, but it's still difficult when you don't have your own deck to practice with."

Sugoroku nodded understandingly, "Yes, it does help when you actually have visual aid to work with..." Gathering up the rest of the cards from the counter, he put them back into the pile and returned them to the drawer in the wooden desk next to the counter. "Traditionally, most people would collect booster packs and build their decks over time, but recently Industrial Illusions, the company who created Duel Monsters, has started releasing what are called Starter Decks for those duelists who are just getting into the game."

"Ooo, that sounds perfect... do you have any starter decks?" Usagi asked.

Sugoroku chuckled, "As a matter of fact, you're in luck, I just got a fresh batch in yesterday of the latest ones," Turning around and climbing up onto a step ladder he kept just behind the counter, Sugoroku reached up onto the first shelf on the wall and started grabbing a few small boxes, then stepped back down and returned to the counter, placing them on top of it for Usagi to see.

Coming closer to the glass counter, Usagi looked down at the boxes Sugoroku had placed on top of it. "Are these the starter decks?"

The old man nodded, "Yes they are. There's at least a dozen or so out right now, but these here are the latest ones I've received." Gesturing his hand at them, Sugoroku smiled, "Pick any one you like, each one is different from the other and represents a specific attribute or monster type."

Taking a minute to think about it, Usagi's eyes trailed over the different colored boxes, then sighed and closed her eyes before pointing a finger out, moving it back and forth before stopping it and opening her eyes, her finger having come to rest on top of the deep purple one. "I choose... this one."

Sugoroku gave a thoughtful nod, "Hmm... the Spellcaster deck, excellent choice my dear. There are lots of powerful magicians and sorcerers in that deck, not to mention useful spells and traps as well." Picking up the other decks, Sugoroku returned them to the shelf behind him. "Now then, you have your starter deck, but to be a truly strong duelist, you're going to need more than just the forty cards you have in it. That's where the booster packs come in." Motioning to the other side of the glass counter, Sugoroku pointed Usagi to several display boxes, each lined with several small foil-wrapped packs with the Duel Monsters logo printed on them with different names and colors. "Some people may think it's easier to just go out and by individual cards, but that can get expensive in a hurry, especially depending on how rare the cards are. With booster packs, you get nine cards to a pack, usually with at least one rare or super rare in them, and each set has different cards in them, making it much more fun when you buy them, because you never know just what you're going to get."

Usagi smiled, finding it hard to disagree with what the old man said, "I guess that's true... sure, it's neat getting to pick your own cards and all, but there's that bit of mystery and excitement when you don't know what it is you're getting... another one of the fun parts of the game, right?"

"Now you've got it," Sugoroku laughed heartily.

Nodding and smiling, Usagi turned back to the row of booster boxes, each one looking rather inviting to her, but she still wasn't sure which ones to pick, so on a whim, she covered her eyes with one hand, then proceeded to stick her other hand out in front of her until she felt the foil packages under her fingers. Plucking up three of them, she then opened her eyes to see what fate had decided for her, and then blinked when she read the name of the packs, "... Magician's Force..."

Sugoroku smiled, "Oh yes, Magician's Force is great for a Spellcaster deck, that series has plenty of cards that would easily boost your deck's power."

Usagi grinned, feeling like she'd managed to pull off two for two on this one, putting the foil packs on top of the deck's box before setting them onto the counter so the old man could ring them up. "Thank you so much for all your help, Mr. Mutou, it was really kind of you to take the time to explain everything to me."

"It was my pleasure my dear, I think you will make a fine duelist," Sugoroku said confidently, then seemed to get an idea, "... in fact, I think I might have something that might really help that happen." Stepping away from the counter for a few moments, the old man walked over to one of the glass display cases, which had a good sized selection of cards in it, all in assorted protective sleeves. Pulling a set of keys from the pocket of his overalls, he flipped through them before finding the right one and inserted it into the lock on the case, opening it up and peering inside. "Now then, let's see..." Pointing at the shelves, he glanced over the rows for several moments, before giving a triumphant "Ah ha!" Reaching inside, he plucked up one of the cards from its resting place and closed the case back up, then walked back to where Usagi was still standing and held his hand out to her. "There you go, I think you'll benefit greatly from this one," Sugoroku said with a kind smile.

Tilting her head, Usagi reached out and carefully took the offered card from Mr. Mutou's outstretched hand. Taking a good look at what it was, she gasped in disbelief before looking back up at him. "This is... wow..." Looking back down at it again, she then blushed, "... but it's so expensive, and I've already spent most of my money."

Sugoroku chuckled, raising his hand to her, "Money isn't a problem, my dear. I want you to have it, consider it a gift for an aspiring young duelist."

Now Usagi was really shocked, having not expected such generosity from someone who had already been so helpful to her. "Really? ... But I couldn't, I mean.."

The elderly shop keeper just shook his head and grinned. "Please, I insist. Something just tells me this card belongs with you. All I ask is that you take good care of it, and do your absolute best as a duelist. Do you think you can do that, Usagi?"

Feeling touched by all of this, the young blond nodded her head and bowed respectfully to Sugoroku. "Yes sir. Thank you so much, Mr. Mutou. I promise I won't let you down!" Acting on impulse, she threw her arms around the shorter man's neck in a big hug, then took her new stuff and departed from the game shop, leaving her new mentor quite red in the face. Once he'd recovered from his stunned state, Sugoroku just chuckled heartily, "I have a good feeling about that girl. I don't know why, but I feel something really special about her. Who knows, this could be the start of something truly amazing. Oh yes, truly amazing indeed."

-o-o-o-

Well, that's one chapter out of the way, let's see where things go from here. I have ideas about what I want to do with this, but I'm still not sure where exactly it's going to end up ultimately. Usagi is getting into the game, and she's already met someone very familiar to those of you who know the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. What's going to happen, and just what did Sugoroku give to everyone's favorite blond? Find out all of this and more in the next exciting chapter of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters!" Be there!

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I m back again, and here s chapter two of the story for you, my faithful fans and reviewers! Hope it was worth the wait!

For those of you who ve read this before and are seeing a difference, I ll just let you know I rewrote this chapter a bit. I d honestly always thought the original version was lacking quite a bit, and so I went back in and did my best to fix that. Hope you guys like the new and improved edition.

And now, I respond to all of the wonderful reviews you ve sent me!

PEJP Bengtzone - Can t YOU come up with a better comment than that? Just kidding! If you or anyone else has good suggestions for chapter titles, or even ideas for the fic itself, feel free to toss them my way, always nice to get outside input!

Kochou-hime - Why thank you! I'm glad you found it so informative, I certainly tried my best to explain things as well as I could. After all, Grandpa was explaining all of this to Usagi, and as someone who was quite new to all of this, she needed to know the ins and outs of how to play the game. Plus, I just thought it'd be nice to give all of that information, as I know there are people who read and watch Yu-Gi-Oh! who still don't know how to actually play the game, and breaking things down like that is for their benefit as well.

mwaetht - Yeah, sorry about that. I think I was referring to Quick-Play spells, which can be used like Traps when they're set on the field, though you can't do that in the turn they're set. Sorry for the confusion.

Chibes - That is a very good question. Even after all this time, I still haven't quite decided if Mamoru is even going to be in the story. See, I don't actually like him much. Always thought he was sort of dull, and I've read a lot of stories that have him come off as dickish or even as a complete asshole, and well, they kind of ruined my opinion of him. Granted, I've read good stories with him before, and some very nice fluffy ones too, but yeah. Not sure if I'll use him or not, maybe just have him be off at college or something. I'll figure it out later.

Sora4801 - Ask and ye shall receive!

Hell-Kitten - Glad you're liking it. Don't really know if I'm going to pair up anybody. If it happens though, it happens, though I'm admittedly not that great at writing romances, but hey, never know what's going to happen. And don't worry, I babble all the time too, so you're good.

Jlargent - No offense taken! I've read some good Yugi or Yami x Usagi stories, as well as some good Seto x Usagi stories... what I've almost never seen though? Jounouchi x Usagi! Why no love for the puppy and the bunny being together? Somebody rectify this! Anyways, not sure if I'll pair up anybody, but keep reading! You never know!

baby dragon - I'll try and update as soon as I can! Gotta please my fans, don't I? And as far as Usagi and the pharaoh, well... anything can happen!

Clint -Cobrawolf - Yay! Glad to be in your favorites, and I'll do my best to continue for as long as I can! Thank you very much!

Usagi Uchiha - Man, a lot of people seem to want the odango atama with the boy billionaire. Keep reading and see what happens!

Jlargent - Huh, I get to respond to you twice! Hehehe! Neat title idea, maybe I'll draw her in that outfit at some point, would definitely be cute.

K - I thought the spellcasters were good for her too. I know most people would probably think fairies/angels or something like that, but I thought this would be more interesting. Plus the deck she picked out is a really good one, and one of my personal favorites! Also, glad to see someone besides me agrees she could do better than cape boy. Not sure if she'll find different love in this story, but you never know!

SailorVengeance19 - Thanks!

Princess - Yay! I'm glad you love it! Definitely a lot of people who want our favorite moon princess to end up with either the pharaoh or his former priest, I'll definitely think about it. Hope you keep reading and enjoying it!

By the way, thanks to everyone for all the reviews, I'd never gotten that many so quickly after posting a new story. Hope everyone enjoys this latest part.

-o-o-o-

Disclaimer: You all should know better than anyone, I don t own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Sailor Moon. Though if the companies and authors just happened to decide to turn over ownership to me, I certainly wouldn t object very much to it. I think I could do very well with the royalties to either series.

-o-o-o-

To say Seto Kaiba was a busy man would be like saying water is wet, or the surface of the sun was hot, or Pegasus J. Crawford was fruity looking. To put it bluntly, it pretty much went without saying. He was also someone who did not enjoy having his precious time wasted by just anyone or anything that thought it would be a good idea to interrupt him while he was taking care of important matters, such as running his billion dollar corporation, or attempting to finally beat Yugi and reclaim his spot at the top of the dueling food chain, or even something like helping Mokuba with a class project. So as one might imagine, getting a phone call on his cell during a late hour while he was endulging in an ultra rare evening spent at home would definitely fall under the interruption category, and that simply did not please the elder Kaiba brother in the least. Once he had fished it out of the inside pocket of his white suit jacket, the irritation that had been building slowly dissapated slightly when he read the caller I.D., seeing it was the number of his rival's house and part time place of business, the Kame Game Shop.

"I'm quite surprised to see you calling this number, Mutou," Seto answered without a proper greeting, holding the phone to his ear.

/"Well, I'd imagine you would be, Kaiba, especially considering our history,"/ a voice responded, though it was not the voice of young Yugi Mutou, nor even that of the spirit whom he shared a body with, but that of their guardian and grandfather, Sugoroku Mutou.

Kaiba smirked ever so slightly, making an audible 'hmph' as he listened to the elderly shop keeper. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call, old man? Finally trying to sue me for that bit of ancient history?" He asked, a surprising attempt at humor by the normally stone faced young executive.

Grandpa Mutou simply laughed, not seeming to mind the baiting words of his grandson's rival and grudgingly at times 'friend'. /"Oh nothing like that my boy, besides I doubt I could compete against that high priced lawyer team your company no doubt employs, besides I know you've come a long way since then, and have definitely changed for the better, even if you are still a bit of a cold git at times,"/ he said, daring a stab in return, showing he could dish it just as well as he could take it.

"Alright then, so why did you make this little social call, old man? I don't think this is just about you and me burying the hatchet," Seto said, hoping that there was indeed a point to all of this aside from him trading jabs with the geriatric game enthusiast.

/"Suspicious as always, Kaiba,"/ Grandpa Mutou said, then chuckled before continuing on with his point, /"Alright, you've got me. I actually did have a reason for calling you. Recently I've taken under my wing a young lady who wanted to learn to play Duel Monsters. A very sweet girl with a real innocence to her, and she's picked up on things fairly quickly."/

"Huh, is that so?" Seto asked, only sounding vaguely interested, "As fascinating as this is, why should I be interested in the fact you're apparently oogling teenage girls in your shop?"

Ignoring his comment for the most part, Sugoroku continued on, /"I'm telling you this because I've been entertaining the idea of seeing if she wants to enter one of the next tournaments that pop up in town. She's been coming into my shop nearly every day just to learn more and more about the game and to practice as much as she can, and she seems eager to try out her skills. Perhaps if you're not too busy in the near future, you could have a look for yourself?"

Taking a moment to mull it over, Seto considered the old man s offer. After all, Mokuba was always bugging him about not spending enough time outside of the office, and the fact he often wanted to go visit Yugi and his little band of misfit friends. If the old man claimed this little prodigy of his was so special, perhaps it wouldn t hurt to see things for himself first hand. I ll take it under consideration and get back to you on it. Does this girl of yours have a name?

/"Her name is Usagi Tsukino. Like I said, she s a sweet girl, and very enthusiastic, almost infectiously so. Who knows, she might even get you to crack a smile, wouldn t THAT be a miracle in itself?"/ Sugoroku chuckled, obviously amused.

"Ha ha, very funny, Seto said completely deadpan, fingers dancing across the keyboard of his laptop, having opened it up when they d began discussing the young lady in question, and now he was running a search on her even as he spoke with Sugoroku. Hmm, Tsukino, you say?" He asked, images and text loading on the screen before him, Looks like it might run in the family. She s got a younger brother, and according to my sources he s also a duelist, and an up and coming one at that. Good showings in local tournaments, even a handful of trophies. Not bad, not bad at all.

/"Then that only proves that she might be worth looking into, wouldn t you agree?"/ The old man suggested, / Who knows, with a bit more practice and a couple of duels under her belt, she might actually give you and Yugi a run for your money. /

"Hmph, I wouldn t go quite that far, but as you say, it definitely sounds like she has potential," Seto said, turning around in his chair. Like I said, I ll take it under consideration, and if I decide anything, I ll be sure to get back to you on it.

/"That's all I ask Kaiba, that's all I ask."/ Grandpa Mutou said, sounding quite pleased either way, / Well, I ll let you go then, I think I ve taken enough time away from the all powerful Seto Kaiba for one evening. I hope you really will think about it, you might just end up being surprised for once. Have a good evening. /

Seto ended the call with a click of his phone closing, setting it back down on his desk to charge before reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, letting out a held in sigh. The young blue eyed billionaire CEO and world class former dueling champion knew he had a great deal to think about, and found himself wondering why he was actually considering taking the old man up on his offer. Perhaps it was because this was the same old man whom he'd nearly given heart failure to during the Death-T incident, something that even know he felt it stuck out as possibly his greatest failure both from a business standpoint and from a personal one as well. Perhaps he felt he owed him something for all of that, especially since his grandson had saved him and his brother time and time again, even when he himself had been trying to take Yugi down from his spot at the top of his game of choice. On the other hand, Kaiba knew not to disregard advice from Sugoroku Mutou, seeing how the old man's hunches were right on the money more often than not.

Pushing that particular train of thought out of the way for the time being, Seto turned his chair around once again and resumed facing the desk inside of his home office, his laptop still open after he d finished doing the background check on the girl and her family, and it had several windows open for another project he was working on, one of which held a current list of registered duelists in Japan. Closing his eyes for a moment, Kaiba took a deep breath before opening up the webpage editor, making a note to look for a recent photograph of the girl he'd been asked to 'keep an eye on.'

"For your sake, old man, I hope I'm not wasting my time," Kaiba said, then let his fingers work their magic on the keyboard.

-o-o-o-

"No!"

"Aww, come ooon!"

"I said no."

"Why noooot?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Please?"

"What part of 'No' don't you understand?"

"Come on Shingo, please?"

In the middle of his bedroom, Shingo Tsukino was having a seemingly endless argument with his older sister, who continued to plead with him with her trademark whine and puppy dog eyes. Ever since she'd come back from the Kame Game Shop with her new deck and cards, Usagi had been studying furiously to come up with strategies and how to put together the perfect deck with what she had. Of course, with the help she'd gotten from Grandpa Mutou and extra tutelage from Ami (who only wished her blonde friend would show as much zeal for her studies as she was for the card game), she'd caught on rather quickly and felt almost ready to go out and find competition. However, before she did something that bold, she wanted to try her hand against someone who had already played the game for a while, hence why she was in her younger brother's room right now.

"Why don't you just go ask Ami or Makoto to duel with you?" Shingo asked in annoyance, not really wanting to waste his time with his increasingly annoying big sister.

"Because," Usagi replied, "Ami's been busy working on her summer school work, though why is beyond me, the girl is so far ahead in everything she should practically be in college by now, and Makoto is up in the mountains training with her martial artist friend again. Come on Shingo, please duel with me, you're the only other good duelist I know," she pleaded. Even though she normally didn't get along with him very often, Usagi knew her brother was good, the various trophies he had on his shelves from the local tournaments were proof enough of that.

Finally having enough, Shingo sighed in defeat, "Okay fine, I'll duel you, just quit whining already!" Shaking his head, the younger of the two siblings walked to his closet and moved the sliding door open, before grabbing a white box from inside and tossing to Usagi, who promptly freaked before scrambling to catch it. "Go get your deck and meet me in the backyard, I'll be out there in a few minutes," He said before pushing her out of his room and closing the door behind him, leaving the poor blonde looking quite confused.

".. Um, okay." She finally said, then looked down at the white box as she walked back to her room. On the side of it was a large picture of the Kaiba Corporation logo as well as the one for Duel Monsters, making Usagi even more curious. Putting it down on her desk, she looked around for a moment before grabbing her house keys and sticking one under one of the flaps on the box, running it down and cutting through the tape keeping the box sealed before opening it and quickly pulling out what was inside, getting a gasp from the aspiring duelist. It was a brand new Battle City regulation duel disk, complete with instruction manual and warranty papers and protected by a layer of bubble wrap and Styrofoam binders. Truthfully, Usagi had been meaning to get one, but she'd just not had the money yet after she bought her cards for her deck, not to mention what other small expenses she had, but never in her wildest dreams had she thought her pest of a brother would just give her one like this.

"It was a door prize at school during the student carnival last month," Shingo said, surprising Usagi as she turned around, seeing him standing in her doorway, his own duel disk already on his arm. "I already had one, so I just stuck it in my closet in case mine broke or something... but since you're just getting into the game, I figured you needed it more than I did."

Stunned by this sudden burst of generosity, Usagi opened her mouth to say something, but Shingo cut her off, "Don't think anything of it, like I said, I had one already and didn't need it, so you're just doing me a favor by taking it, it just would've taken up space and collected dust." Turning around, he started to leave, only to stop and glance over his shoulder, "... Well? Are you coming or not? You're the one who wanted to duel so badly."

Blushing some, Usagi nodded her head, "Uh, yeah, just lemme get my deck." She said, coming out of her thoughts and looking to her desk again, fumbling through her belongings to find the silver box she kept it in.

Shingo just sighed and went downstairs while Usagi searched, "Sisters, who needs 'em?"

-o-o-o-

How well will Usagi do in her first duel? What kind of cards does Shingo have in his deck? What kind of information might Kaiba end up digging up on our favorite moon senshi? The answers to these questions and many more still to come in the next exciting chapter! Be there!

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life 


	3. Chapter 3

Well here it is! Chapter three is now up! Enjoy!

Oh yeah, sorry for the extra long wait between chapters everyone, I've just been really busy in real life with finals and stuff for school, not to mention tons of other crap to deal with, so forgive me for being late with this, but I've tried to make it extra, extra long this chapter to make up for it. Hope you guys enjoy!

But first! Review time!

Anonymous (since you didn't leave a name) - Hmm, the Silver Crystal's magic running wild through people's decks? Could make an interesting plot device, may save that for later!

Sora4801 - Glad you like it! Sadly, no couples yet, but that could change at any time!

Avatre - Thank you! I'll be sure to get more out as soon as I can!

dr-fan/mai-lover - ... Minako looks like Mai? ... honestly, don't really see it myself. Not sure if Mai will pop up, but hey, anything can happen!

Chibes - HA! I love Avenue Q! And now I can't stop picturing Kaiba surfing for porn online! You've corrupted my mind! XD

Usagi Uchiha - Yes! I have brought another one out for all to see! Glad I could make you happy! -grin- And not sure who Usagi will pair up with, if anyone at all. And if you didn't care for the bit with Shingo, that's cool, though hopefully you enjoy this chapter a bit more!

mystic soilder - I'm pulling for her to do well too, and I'm the one writing this thing! And who knows what sort of things our favorite CEO will discover about our favorite moon bunny? Dun dun duuuunnnn! Hope this was soon enough for you!

princess moon shadow - Glad you love it! Hope you'll continue to!

Liza - Why thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it, I'm enjoying it too, it's been a lot of fun writing this thing! Hope you like this update!

K - Yes, Usagi's got her duel disk and her cards are prepared, is she ready to get her game on? Read on and see! As for when she'll meet Yugi and the gang, well... -grin-

And that's all she wrote for the reviews this time, on with the story!

-o-o-o-

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything here. But you knew that already.

-o-o-o-

After several minutes of preparation, Usagi and her brother were outside in the backyard, preparing to go at it in the field of combat, or at least in the playing field.

"You ready to do this, Usagi?" Shingo called out to the odango-haired blond, his duel disk primed and his deck ready.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Usagi called back, inserting her deck into her disk as well, making it snap out and into battle mode.

Smirking, Shingo nodded, "Okay, but I'm warning you, I won't go easy on you just because you're my big sister. I play to win."

"Fine by me, little brother, I won't hold back either," Usagi replied, trying to look confident despite this being her first real duel.

"Let's duel!" They shouted in unison, then drew their cards and prepared to go at it on the game's battlefield.

-

Shingo: 4000  
Usagi: 4000

-

"Well sis, since you were so eager to duel me, I'll let you have the honor of the first draw," Shingo said, 'Not to mention you couldn't duel your way out of a paper bag,' he mentally added, snickering confidently.

"Hmph," Usagi snorted, drawing her first card, "Okay, let's go... I place two spell or trap cards face down." Slipping them into the slots on her duel disk, two holographic cards appeared face down on the field, "Next, I play the spell card Reload, letting me add all the cards in my hand to my deck and shuffle it, then I get to draw the exact same number of cards." As the spell card appeared on the field, Usagi added the three cards in her hand to her deck, shuffled it, then drew three more cards. "Finally, I place a monster face down in defense mode. That'll do this turn, your move." The face down monster soon appeared, and Usagi turned things over to Shingo.

"Heh, not bad for a beginner, but let a pro show you how it's done!" Shingo drew his card, then smirked, "I'll start things off by placing one spell or trap card face down on the field, then use an oldie but a goody, my Swords of Revealing Light spell card!" Putting it down, the spell card appeared on the field face up, and suddenly Usagi found herself surrounded by several glowing cross-like swords, but what really surprised her was when her face-down monster flipped up, revealing her Blast Magician holding its staff in a defensive manner. (1400/1700)

Shingo grinned from the shock on Usagi's face, "Thanks to my spell card, your face-down monster got flipped face up, and now you cannot attack for three whole turns!" Drawing a card from his hand, the younger duelist continued, "Now for the best part, I summon Drillroid in attack mode!" In a flash, a large drill-like vehicle with eyes and track-like limbs appeared on Shingo's side of the field. (1600/1600)

Usagi blinked, looking confused, "That seemed kind of pointless. Isn't your Drillroid's attack weaker than my Blast Magician's defense? You'd be the one getting hurt instead."

Shingo just laughed, "Attack and defense isn't everything, my Drillroid also has a special ability to contend with. If I attack a defense position monster, I can destroy the monster without applying damage." Thrusting his finger out, Shingo continued, "Now Drillroid, attack Usagi's Blast Magician! Pulverizing Drill!" Growling and revving it's motor, Drillroid charged forward with it's drill head spinning rapidly.

'Think fast, Usagi, you need to do something quick!' The blond duelist thought, looking around, then grinned when she remembered her face downs, "Not so fast, little brother. You just triggered my trap card! Magic Cylinder!" Flipping face up one of the two cards on her field, two large tubes with matching patterns appeared on the field, and Drillroid came to a screeching halt mere inches away from her magician. "Thanks to my trap, your monster's attack is negated, and I get to deal damage to your life points equal to your monster's attack points!" Getting sucked into one tube, Drillroid came rocketing out of the other tube at full speed, colliding with Shingo and knocking the younger duelist back hard, not to mention knocking a large chunk out of his life points. (LP: 4000 - 2400)

Coughing some and getting back to his feet, Shingo snorted, "So you got first blood, big deal. I end my turn," he said, Drillroid returning to his side of the field.

Usagi giggled, "Aww, what's wrong Shingo? Mr. 'I'm the best duelist in my school' afraid he'll get beat down by his big sister?" Drawing her next card, Usagi made her move, "I place one monster face down on the field, and end my turn." Putting it down on her duel disk, a large card appeared face down on the field beside her magician. "Take it away, Shingo." She smiled.

"Don't get cocky sis, this duel is just getting started!" Shingo shouted, then drew his card, "I summon Rescueroid in attack mode!" As he said it, another living machine appeared on the field, this time bearing the likeness of a fire engine, revving its motor and flashing its lights. (1600/1800) "Now Rescueroid, attack Usagi's face down monster!" Sirens screaming, the fire engine peeled out and charged at the face down card.

Usagi braced herself as her Apprentice Magician was revealed, then flattened from getting run down by the oncoming Vehicroid, destroying it.

Shingo grinned, "One down, one to go, and don't forget about my Drillroid's effect, it can destroy your monster without applying damage. Now, Drillroid, let's try it again, attack Usagi's Blast Magician!" Drill spinning, Drillroid charged towards the red armored sorcerer, grinding through it and sending it to the graveyard before going back to Shingo's side of the field. "Well, that's all the damage I can do this turn, your move Usagi." He grinned, turning things over to her.

Giving her brother a dirty look, Usagi looked at her deck and sighed, 'Come on now, be good to me.' Drawing her next card, she smiled, "Looks like things are looking up. I summon Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" Placing the card on her disk, a man in gold and blue armored robes appeared n her side of the field, holding up a metal staff with a ball on the end of it. (1900/1700)

Shingo snorted, not looking very impressed, "Nice Usagi, I'd almost be worried if my swords weren't still in effect. Your monster might be stronger than both of mine, but you still can't attack yet."

Usagi smiled confidently, "Just because I can't attack your monsters doesn't mean I can't do anything, little brother. I play the spell card, Lightning Vortex!" A card with the image of lightning bolts appears on the field, and Usagi soon continues, "Thanks to Lightning Vortex, by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all face-up monsters on your side of the field." As Usagi sent the last card in her hand to the graveyard, the two siblings watched as a black hole opened up above the playing field, and two lightning bolts shot down from inside of it, striking down Shingo's Rescueroid and Drillroid, blowing them away and knocking the younger duelist back some from the recoil. Usagi laughed and grinned happily, and one of the orbs on her magician's armor lit up as well. "Not feeling so cocky now, are you little bro? I'll end my turn now."

Shingo growled some and drew a card, "You just got lucky, you won't win. I summon Gyroid in defense mode, and that's all." A helicopter-like Vehicroid appeared on the field, holding it's tire-bearing limbs up in a protective manner. (1000/1000)

Usagi smiled, "Lucky nothing, I've been studying hard to become a good duelist." She drew her next card, then looked to him, "I place one spell or trap card face down, and that's my turn, and also the end of your swords." As she said that, the golden blades all vanished from around her end of the field.

Drawing his next card, Shingo's expression changed from anger to triumph in a hurry, "Well, whatever you wish to believe Usagi, your luck is just about to run out. I switch my Gyroid from defense mode to attack mode, and then I'll summon my second Drillroid to the field in attack mode!" The blue helicopter's propellers started whirling as it lifted off the ground, and then the new Drillroid appeared on the field as well, looking ready to strike. (1600/1600)

Stunned, Usagi looked like she'd just swallowed a frog, "Not another one!"

Shingo grinned, "Yup, you seemed to like it so much, I though you'd wanna meet my other one. Drillroid, see that Usagi's magician gets the point! Pulverizing Drill!" Drillroid charged forward and plowed clean through the Skilled Dark Magician, wiping it out in a burst of light. "Don't you just love it's special ability? I know I do." He laughed and thumbed his nose cockily. "Now, Gyroid, attack Usagi's life points directly!"

Usagi shielded herself as best she could as Gyroid flew towards her, colliding with the blonde and knocking her off her feet. (LP: 4000 - 3000)

Laughing at this small triumph, Shingo smirked, "That'll do for this turn. Just face it Usagi, you'll never be as good me. I'm the top duelist in my whole class, no one's been able to take me down yet."

Getting back up, Usagi shot another glare at her brother, "There's always a first time for everything." Drawing her card, the blonde duelist continued, "I play the spell card, Premature Burial, and by giving up 800 lifepoints, I can summon a monster from my graveyard to the field in attack mode, and I choose.. my Dark Magician Girl!" The spell card appeared on the field, and soon after the pink and blue clad sorceress appeared on the field in a puff of smoke, twirling her wand and striking a pose. (2000/1700) (LP: 3000 - 2200)

Now it was Shingo's turn to look shocked, "Dark Magician Girl? That's one of the cards Yugi Mutou uses! How did that get into your graveyard? You never played it!"

Usagi smirked, "Well since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. Remember when I used Lightning Vortex to destroy your monsters? Dark Magician Girl was what I discarded to the graveyard, and that's how I was able to summon her just now," she replied, then pointed towards one of her brother's monsters, "Now Dark Magician Girl, attack Shingo's Drillroid with Dark Magical Blast!" Giving a nod, Dark Magician Girl twirled around once, then unleashed a blast of magical energy from her wand, striking Drillroid and turning it to dust. (LP: 2400 - 2000)

Shingo groaned as his second Drillroid was wiped out, thinking he'd been underestimating Usagi so far, 'Guess she has been doing her homework on this, what a shock that is.' "I'm still not impressed!"

Usagi just grinned, "Oh really? Then how come your lifepoints are lower than mine, Shingo? I must be doing something right." She giggled, "I'll turn things over to you now, let you keep some of your pride."

Shingo glared daggers at his older sister, especially over those comments, 'Okay, now I REALLY want to beat her.' Drawing his next card, he frowned, "... I place one spell or trap card face down, then I summon a monster face down in defense mode before switching my Gyroid to defense mode as well. That'll do for now." Two cards appeared on the field, and the blue helicopter Vehicroid landed and switched to defense mode.

"You sure they didn't just let you win those duels, Shingo? You don't seem to be doing very well right now," Usagi teased, succeeding in making her brother turn a lovely shade of red.

"You've just been lucky so far, Usagi, this duel isn't over yet," Shingo shouted back, "Just make your move already!"

"Don't mind if I do!" The blonde smiled, drawing her next card, "Attack and destroy his Gyroid!" Giving a nod and a smile, Dark Magician Girl charged forward and fired off aother energy blast towards Gyroid, causing a good-sized explosion. Giggling, Usagi gave the V sign, "Yeah, that's how you d... what?"

When the smoke cleared, Usagi was shocked to see that Gyroid had not been destroyed, and was in fact still where it had been when it was blasted.

"What gives? My Dark Magician Girl has way more attack points than your monster has defense points, it should be scrap metal by now." Looking to his side of the field, none of his trap cards were up or anything, adding more confusion for the poor blonde. "What's the deal?"

Shingo smirked, "The deal, Usagi, is my Gyro's special ability. Once per turn, if my monster would be destroyed in battle, it is not destroyed." 'Which I'm glad I remembered,' the boy mentally added. "So sorry sis, better luck next time."

"The only one who's going to need luck is you, little brother." Usagi frowned, "I end my turn."

Drawing a card, Shingo looked at his hand, 'The way this duel is going, she might be right. I need something good if I'm going to take her out.' "... I summon Decoyroid in defense mode, then I end my turn." In a flash, a car that resembled an RC Car appeared on the field, honking it's horn playfully. (300/500)

Usagi smiled, "Aww, how cute, a little toy car," she giggled.

Shingo rolled his eyes, "Laugh it up, Usagi, but my Decoyroid has a special effect. As long as it's face up on the field, you cannot attack any of my monsters except Decoyroid. How do you like that?"

"Not a bad move, bro, shame it won't be around for very long." Drawing her next card, Usagi grinned, '.. nice... but I think I'll save you for now.' "Dark Magician Girl, attack that little RC toy and send it back to the toy bin." Once more, the blonde sorceress twirled her wand and fired, instantly wiping out Decoyroid. "Now you're just stalling, Shingo. Waiting for a good card to pop up and save you?"

Shingo was getting visibly upset, "Just shut up will you?" He shouted, definitely not liking how things were going. Drawing his next card, he frowned, "I play my second Decoyroid in defense mode." Just as with last turn, the toy car appeared on the field, getting a laugh out of Usagi.

"This is sad, now you're just repeating yourself," Usagi laughed.

"I said shut up!" Shingo yelled, 'Come on, she's just a beginner, she's got to slip up at some point.' "Make your move already!"

"Ooo, someone's getting touchy. I didn't know you were such a sore loser, little brother." Usagi drew her next card and giggled. "I place one spell or trap card face down. Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack his Decoyroid again!" Following orders, the blonde sorceress fired once more, destroying Shingo's monster with ease. "Come on Shingo, give me a challenge! You're making this way too easy!"

Grumbling, Shingo drew his next card, then glared at it, "I play my second Gyroid in defense mode." 'Least she won't be able to take them out so easily.' Shingo thought.

"Sorry Shingo, but this just became a no-fly zone! Reveal trap card, Divine Wrath!" One of her two face down cards rose up, revealing the image of a monster getting struck by lightning. "Thanks to this card, by discarding a card from my hand, I can negate the activation of and effect of an Effect monster and destroy it, so kiss your Gyroid bye bye!" Sending one card from her hand to the graveyard, a bolt of lightning shot out of her trap, striking the Gyroid and making it screech before being vaporized, making Shingo wince as he shielded himself from the explosion.

'Stupid trap cards,' Shingo thought, "I end my turn."

Drawing hew card, Usagi smiled, "Now for some fun. I activate my other trap card, Call of the Haunted, and use it to bring back one of my monsters, and I choose my Dark Magician!" The trap raised up on the field, and in a flash of light the famous sorcerer reappeared on the field, looking ready for action. (2500/2100)

Shingo freaked, "The Dark Magician! That's Yugi's favorite monster!" 'This is starting to look bad,' he thought.

"That's right, and it's one of my favorites too, but I'm not done yet. I also play a spell card, Magical Blast!" Placing it one of the empty slots, the card appeared on the field. "With this, I can inflict 200 points damage to your life points for every spellcaster on my side of the field." Getting together, both Dark Magician Girl and the Dark Magician raised their staffs together, charging a large ball of magical energy before sending it flying towards Shingo.

"Not so fast, Usagi. You just triggered one of my trap cards, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell!" Rising up on his side of the field, a trap card was revealed. "Thanks to this, by sending one spell card from my hand to the graveyard, I can negate the activation and effect of a spell card and destroy it, and I choose your Magical Blast, keeping my lifepoints safe for now." Sending a card to his graveyard, Shingo grinned as the blast was sent back towards Usagi's spell card, destroying it instantly. "And as an added bonus, you can't activate spell cards with that name for the rest of the duel, including the one just destroyed."

Usagi sighed, then smiled, "Nice, I was starting to think you didn't have any tricks left, Shingo, but it'll take more than that to win this thing." Looking at his playing field, Usagi took a minute to think, 'If I attack his Gyroid, he can just use it's effect to save it, and I'd have to attack it with both monsters to wipe it out.' Looking at the card next to it, Usagi continued to ponder, 'And there's no telling what he's got hiding under that one... decisions, decisions.'

Shingo tapped his foot and crossed his arms, "Sometime today, Usagi?"

Usagi blinked, grinning, "What's wrong Shingo? I thought you'd want this to last longer, but oh well." Pointing towards him, she smiled, "Dark Magician Girl, attack Shingo's last Gyroid!" Dark Magician Girl soon complied, twirling and firing at the machine-type monster.

Shingo grinned, "That was pointless, I can use my monster's special ability to save itself, did you forget that already?"

"On the contrary, little brother, I was counting on it," Usagi smirked, "Because now that you've used it once this turn, I can attack it with my Dark Magician and wipe it out!"

"Crap!" Shingo could only look on as his first Gyroid was attacked once more by Usagi's magician, getting destroyed this time around. 'Guess she's not as dumb as she acts sometimes,' the younger of the two siblings thought, though he'd never admit it to her face.

Usagi smiled, feeling like victory was within her grasp. "I'll end my turn now. Let's see if you have anything left, little brother."

"I got plenty left, Odango Atama! I'll beat you yet!" Shingo yelled, then drew his card, "I place one monster face down, and end my turn." The face down card appeared beside his other one, and the young duelist tried to look confident, even though his deck was having less than stellar results, 'Come on, I can't lose to Usagi, I'd never live that down!'

Drawing a new card, Usagi smiled, "Sorry Shingo, but looks like that's not gonna happen, this duel is over."

"No way!" Shingo shouted, not believing it.

"Yes way!" Usagi replied, "Because now, I play this, my second Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" In a whirl of light, the robed and armored spellcaster appeared with his fellow magicians. (1900/1700)

"Aw nuts," Shingo frowned, knowing this wasn't going to end well for him.

Usagi grinned, "Skilled Dark Magician, attack Shingo's first face down monster!" With a nod, the sorcerer raised his staff and aimed it towards the face down card, firing off a bolt of energy towards it, revealing the monster to be Ambulanceroid, which sounded it's sirens in agony before being destroyed. (300/1200) "Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack Shingo's second face down monster!" Twirling her wand gleefully, the pink and blue sorceress smiled and fired off a blast of her own, striking the last monster and revealing it to be Patroid, vaporizing the squad car monster with no difficulty whatsoever. (1200/1200)

Shingo groaned as both of his monsters were destroyed, knowing Usagi still had one attack left, "This is really going to suck."

Usagi smiled to her brother, "This has been fun Shingo, but time to finish it. Dark Magician, attack him directly! Dark Magic Attack!" Raising his staff for the only time that duel, the Dark Magician leaped into the air and pointed the head straight at Shingo, unleashing a powerful energy blast.

Shingo tried to brace himself, but yelled out as the attack struck home, knocking him clean off his feet and onto the ground, taking the last of his life points with it. (LP: 2000 - 2500: 0)

Seeing her little brother go down, Usagi just stood there for a moment or two, letting things sink in, then got the biggest grin on her face she'd ever had in her life. "I... beat... Shingo! WOOHOO!" Giving a triumphant squeal, the blonde duelist started jumping up and down, looking absolutely thrilled with herself, "I beat him, I beat him! I beat Shingo!"

Soon recovering from the stun of his loss, Shingo got up and dusted himself off, sweatdropping as his older sister had her little victory celebration, "Yeah, yeah, sure, rub it in..." He grumbled.

Usagi continued to celebrate, then twirled around and gave her brother the V sign, "Oh yeah, in your face! I'm awesome! I beat Shingo! I beat Shingo!" She giggled, then grinned, "This is big news, I should call the girls, I doubt even Rei will be able to keep from freaking out over this." She laughed, then ran up and hugged her little brother, "Thanks for the duel Shingo, you totally made my whole day! I still can't believe I won! This is so cool!"

Shingo blushed some and pushed her away, trying to keep his 'cool' image up, "Yeah, whatever. This doesn't prove nothing, maybe I just LET you win, you don't know nothing," he shot back, but Usagi just stuck her tongue out at him, running off to go share her victory with her friends.

-o-o-o-

A few days passed, and the weekend quickly arrived. The five inner senshi had collected themselves at Makoto's apartment once the Amazon had returned from her sabbatical, and the group of friends ate and conversed as they always did. Still pleased over her victory earlier in the week, Usagi was sharing the details with the rest of the gang, even managing to bring a look of shock to the fiery priestess.

"You actually beat your little brother? I'm impressed Usagi, you seem to be getting much better if you were able to outwit him," Makoto commented, having a sip of her soda.

"I have to agree with Makoto, it sounds like you've really been doing your homework on this," Ami replied, idly flipping through a book she'd brought with her, which was no surprise to the others.

"That's a first, Usagi never studies for her classes, who'd have thought she'd do it for a silly game." Rei remarked, snatching a cookie off the plate that Makoto had brought out for everybody, which amazingly enough Usagi hadn't completely devoured.

Usagi just stuck her tongue out at Rei, but smiled despite it, "I was just as surprised as you guys are. I know how good he is, but for some reason things were really just falling into place for me, it was really fun. Plus it's nice to actually win for once," She grinned, snatching a cookie or two for herself.

"Well I, for one, am happy for Usagi. The kid is always giving her grief, and for once she actually got the better of him." Minako stated, getting a grin out of Usagi in the process.

"So Usagi, what kind of deck did you use against him? It must've been stacked wickedly to demolish Shingo like that," Makoto inquired.

"Yeah Usagi, show us, what did you use? A Light-theme deck? A Fairy-theme deck? Spill it, inquiring minds want to know," Minako giggled.

Smiling, Usagi reached into her bag and pulled out a silver deck box with a crescent moon symbol on the lid, something she'd added herself when she was bored. "Well, if you guys are so curious, have a look for yourself," she replied, opening the box and drawing out her deck before setting it down on the coffee table.

Being the closest, Ami reached out and picked up Usagi's deck first, carefully thumbing through it with growing curiosity and amazement, "... It's a spellcaster deck... it seems to have a lot of Dark Monsters, with a few Light ones thrown in as well..." The others peered over Ami's shoulder, only to gasp with her when they saw a few select cards in her deck.

"... a Dark Magician Girl? Those are extremely rare! How did you ever afford one, Usagi?" Minako asked, sharing the curiosity of the other girls.

"That was a gift from Mr. Mutou, the old man at the game shop I got my cards from," Usagi smiled and munched on another cookie, "He said I had a lot of potential, and thought it might come in handy."

"Mr. Mutou?" Ami asked, thinking for a moment, then blinked, "... you don't mean Sugoroku Mutou, do you?"

Usagi blinked and nodded, "Little old man, about so tall with a black bandanna and wild gray hair in green overalls?" She asked, holding up her arm for show.

Ami nodded, "Sugoroku Mutou was a famous archeologist, he used to explore tombs and such places in Egypt and all through the rest of the world, but he retired and opened up a game shop, but he's also the grandfather of one of, if not the greatest duelists on the planet, Yugi Mutou!" Everyone looked quite shocked at this, even Usagi.

"So.. I got tutored in the game by the grandfather of a celebrity?" The blonde teen asked, "Wow, and here I just thought he was a sweet old man." Thinking about it, Usagi idly glanced at her watch, then blushed, "Oh man, I forgot. I promised Shingo I'd take him by there in a little bit, sort of a peace offering for hurting his pride like that." She started to get up, then blinked as an idea came to her, "Hey, why don't you guys come along? You can meet Mr. Mutou in person, and who knows, maybe that Yugi kid will be there too."

Seeming to think about it for a moment, the girls all seemed to come to agreement. "Sure, it could be fun!" Minako said with a bright smile.

"I guess it couldn't hurt, plus I wanna see if this guy is the genuine article," Rei said, obviously in.

"Oh, I hope Yugi is there, all the pictures on TV make him look so cool and hot, kind of like..." Makoto thought about it for a moment, then giggled, "Forget it, he's way better than my old boyfriend, he NEVER had hair that awesome! I'm definitely in!"

"Well, seems to be nearly unanimous," Usagi smiled, then looked to Ami just as everyone else did, "What about you Ami-chan?"

The bluenette blushed some, then closed her book and looked up thoughtfully, "Well, if it is the real Sugoroku Mutou, maybe he can tell me some interesting stories about the pyramids and ancient Egyptian archeology, since he's been there and seen it first hand." Everyone sort of sweatdropped around the same time, while Ami just blushed.

"Leave it to Ami-chan to always find something academic even in an entertainment environment," Minako teased, making everyone including Ami laugh at that.

-o-o-o-

About an hour or so later, Usagi and the others (including Shingo) entered the Kame Game Shop, the elder of the two siblings making good on her promise from after their duel. Hearing the jingle from the bell above the door, Sugoroku looked up from behind the counter, only to be surprised by the large flock of young ladies entering his shop, "Oh my, I think I've died and gone to Heaven, I'm seeing five angels in front of me."

Usagi giggled and smiled, and she and the others bowed politely, "Hello Mr. Mutou, nice to see you again."

Walking out from behind the counter, the old man approached the lot of them with his hands behind his back, "A pleasure to see you too Usagi, it's always nice to see a friendly face here in my shop." Looking around her, Sugoroku grinned, "And you've brought friends with you I see, how wonderful. I'm Sugoroku Mutou, the owner of the Kame Game Shop, if there's anything you lovely ladies need, feel free to ask me."

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Shingo said, trying to get out from behind Usagi and her friends.

Sugoroku chuckled and smiled at the young man before him, "Oh, and who might you be young man? Another young dueling hopeful?"

Usagi opened her mouth to speak, but Shingo smirked and beat her to it, "I'm Shingo Tsukino sir, and unfortunately, I'm the odango atama's little brother, but I'm also one of the best duelists in my school." He said with a confident grin, while Usagi just rolled her eyes at his bragging.

"Ohoho!" Sugoroku chuckled, "So you're the younger brother Usagi had told me about. It's a pleasure to actually meet you young man, and the rest of you fine young ladies as well."

Usagi blushed and smiled, "Oh, how rude of me." She stepped to the side, "Mr. Mutou, these are my friends. The girl with blue hair is Ami Mizuno, the raven haired girl is Rei Hino, the tall girl with the brown ponytail is Makoto Kino, and last but not least, the blonde with the red bow is Minako Aino."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr. Mutou," Ami said with a bow.

"Yes, Usagi told us a lot about you, you seem like a really nice person," Rei added, also bowing politely.

"Thanks to your teaching, Usagi actually won her first duel against her brother here, and she's been awfully proud of it," Makoto said, smiling kindly.

"Are you really Yugi's grandpa?" Minako asked, causing the other girls to fall down in the process.

Sugoroku just laughed heartily, enjoying all the attention. "It's so nice to see such polite young girls these days, it really does an old man's heart good," he smiled, "And to answer your question my dear, yes, Yugi is my grandson, and I couldn't ask for a better one." Looking up at the clock, Sugoroku saw that it was close to two in the afternoon, "Hmm, almost time for lunch. Say, how would you youngsters like to join me and Yugi for a bite to eat here at the shop? I was just going to close up for the hour, and I certainly wouldn't mind the company." Before the girls and boy could give him an answer, Sugoroku walked to the back of the room and opened a door, apparently leading to the other side of the building, "Yugi! Could you come down here for a bit? We have some company that I'd like you to meet!"

"Sure thing, Grandpa, I'll be right down!" Came a younger male voice from upstairs, once more gaining the attention of the small group. Before too long, a young man with spiked tri-colored hair and maroon eyes walked down the stairs, wearing a pair of blue dress pants and a leather shirt with buckles around it, as well as a blue school jacket and a black collar around his neck. Looking around the room curiously, he blinked and walked up to Sugoroku, giving a shy smile to the others in the front of the store. "Oh sorry Grandpa, if I'd known you'd had so many customers come in, I would've come down sooner," Yugi apologized, earning a chuckle out of the old man.

"It's not a problem Yugi, I was just telling these young ladies about you," Sugoroku smiled, "In fact, I asked them to join us for lunch. Right this way girls," he said, leading them through the door and towards the back of the shop where the house was.

-o-o-o-

Well, now Usagi and the gang have been introduced to the King of Games himself, how cool is that? What will happen when they meet Yugi's friends, especially his 'other self'? And will Kaiba learn anything interesting about our favorite blonde? Check back when chapter four comes out to find out!

Author's Note: I know I only had 4000 life points in Usagi and Shingo's duel instead of the regular 8000 in the official game, but since we're working in the realm of the anime and manga, I thought it would be better to go with the number they use so the duels don't run for too long.

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life


	4. Chapter 4

Please forgive me for the long delay in getting this chapter up, I've actually had the bulk of it written for quite a while now, and I had tried to get it out before the holidays came, but I hit a bit of a wall in where to end it off at until just this morning. It's not that I don't have the ideas or anything, or the motivation, I just occasionally have difficulty in arranging how things should go or how to link certain scenes together. On top of all that, I had gotten sick as a dog over Christmas, I mean hardcore sick, we're talking to the point where I ended up upchucking the contents of my stomach into a sink in a Walmart public bathroom, and God bless the poor soul who had to clean THAT up. So needless to say, this meant I was stuck in bed recovering from it all for several days, and kept me from going on a trip to Dallas to stay with my mom through the holidays... but all that aside, chapter four is now finally ready, and I've already started work on chapter five, so hopefully it won't take me as long to get that out to you, my loyal readers.

Time for replies to reviews!

Chibes - Yeah, I'm somewhat of a stickler for detail myself, and I always do my best to keep everyone in character as best I can with the different situations. Oh yeah, and I have to say it, because of you, I'll never look at Kaiba and his laptop the same way again. XD

Usagi Uchiha - Yeah, I was gonna bring in Seto at some point, you just cannot have a good YGO story without him in it in my opinion. Now, whether or not he ends up with Usagi, well, we'll just see where the story takes us.

K - Glad you enjoyed the duel, it was a lot of fun to write, plus I thought it helped to set the tone for things a bit. Hmm, Yami & Usagi? Dunno, you'll have to wait and see!

princess moon shadow - I'm glad ya liked it.

CosmosAngel1 - I must say, your review really touched me as a writer, and I have to agree with you, there are simply not enough decently written stories on the net these days. Now before I get a flame war on this, I mean no disrespect to my fellow writers, but to be honest, there are some who could use a lot of help with certain things, but that just shows there is room for improvement, something I've tried to do with both my art and my writing, so I'm also getting on myself as well. So thank you my dear, you are truly a sweet person, and I honestly hope you enjoy the rest of my story as it comes along.

mystic soilder - I'm glad you enjoyed my story so far, and I'll certainly try to write more as often as I can.

Hoshiko Megami - Glad ya liked it, and I'll do my best!

Delphine Pryde - Everyone seems to want those two together, yet I've also seen some who want her paired up with Seto. I'm not sure where I'm going with pairings, but I'll figure it out sooner or later.

MoonBunny777 - Glad ya liked it, and I'll update it as soon as I have a new chapter written.

And that's all for now. Sorry if I didn't respond to some of you, I'll try to get reply more in the next one.

-o-o-o-

Disclaimer: ... I don't even know why I bother posting this each time. I'm a guy, so you know I didn't create Sailor Moon, and last time I checked, my name wasn't Kazuki Takahashi, so I didn't create Yu-gi-oh! either, which means I don't own either one of those properties. In fact, the only thing I do own is three VHS tapes of the SM movies and two box sets of S and SuperS, a few CDs with subtitled episodes of the Sailor Stars season, four mini figurines of Mercury, Jupiter, Mars and Venus (sadly, Sailor Moon was sold out, so I couldn't finish the set), the first two English Sailor Moon music CDs, the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie on DVD, volumes 1-7 of the first series manga and the first four volumes of the Duelist manga, and more Yu-gi-oh! cards than I care to go through and count, but last time I checked, it was in the neighborhood of 3000.

-o-o-o-

Most teenagers have their fair share of problems to deal with growing up: puberty, mood swings, school work, part time jobs, their parents, you name it, it's in there.

Seto Kaiba was not most teenagers. Most teenagers didn't get tortured in most inhumane manners by their now deceased stepfathers to become replacements of said stepfathers' dead sons. Most teenagers didn't run global companies, handle board meetings, fly around the world when it was required. Most teenagers didn't deal with rivals with multicolored hair who talked of nonsense like destiny and ancient spirits of the past and magic.

Most people who had experienced all the things Seto Kaiba had gone through in his brief stint in life would've either snapped under the pressure and gone completely mad or most likely tried to end their lives altogether, and somewhere, deep down, he'd probably considered it at least once on occasion, but there were many things that prevented him from going to those extremes. One, of course, was the fact that people like Kaiba were simply too stubborn to lay down and die, no matter how much stress was placed upon them. Kaiba was the type of person who thrived under extremely stressful circumstances, always finding some way to defy those above them and surpass all expectations, which is why he had become so successful at such a young age in spite of the hardships his late stepfather Gozaburo had put him through.

But those who knew Seto Kaiba, the REAL Seto Kaiba (and that in itself was an elite few) knew the true reason why the teen CEO never quit, and why he worked so hard growing up to be where he was today. The cold exterior shown to the world was let down for only one person, and that was Seto's little brother Mokuba. He'd made a vow that his bushy-haired brother would never have to go through what he'd experienced, never feel the punishment and agony he'd felt and lived through, something he wouldn't wish on even the worst of his enemies, not even the mutt Jounouchi.

Leaving the past where it belongs, namely in the past itself, Seto had other things on his mind at this particular moment in time. Ever since his impromptu chat with Yugi's grandfather the week before, Seto found himself thinking about the particular girl Sugoroku had asked him to keep an eye out for. Finding information about her was easy enough, especially for a young man with his resources, and he quickly learned of her family, friends, what school she attended, even the guy she had been dating off and on, what foods she liked or hated, and many other details as well. Knowledge of her younger brother beforehand was a given though, considering he'd seen the boy duel first hand at one of the many tournaments in and around Juuban and Domino, several of which his company hosted or endorsed, so he figured that the girl might at least have some potential, especially for the old man to give his support to.

Suddenly, Seto was pulled out of his thoughts through the electronic tones from the telephone on his large oak desk, gaining a very annoyed look from the young CEO before he reached over to answer it, "Yes, what is it?"

/"Mr. Kaiba, I believe we might have located the girl you asked us to search for information on,"/ said a woman's voice from the other end of the line, obviously one of Kaiba's many employees.

"Oh really now?" He replied, "Just what have you found that leads you to believe this?"

/"Well Mr. Kaiba,"/ the woman continued/"One of the Kaiba Corp. satellites had picked up on a duel earlier in the week, and-"/

"And your point?" Seto interrupted. Just before Seto had launched the Battle City tournament nearly two years back, the Kaiba Corporation had sent a few dozen or more satellites up into orbit around the planet. On record, they were up there to allow the use of his company's duel disks anywhere worldwide. However, these very same satellites also allowed Seto to observe activities all across the globe at any given time. Needless to say though, Kaiba was not interested in knowing about a random duel, lease of all one that didn't involve himself or his arch rival Yugi Mutou. "My satellites observe thousands of duels on a daily basis, Miss.."

/"W-Williams, Amanda Williams, Mr. Kaiba,"/ Miss Williams obviously stammered, but quickly recovered and continued/"Anyway, the reason we found this duel to be important to your search was... well, because the duel disks involved were registered to the same person, a young boy by the name of Shingo Tsukino, the brother of the girl in question."/

Now this particular piece of information gained Seto's interest, "Both duel disks you say? Okay Miss Williams, you now have my undivided attention. What other information do you have about this duel?"

/"If it helps, Mr. Kaiba, we took the liberty of watching and recording the footage from the duel. If you would like, I can have it patched through to your office,"/ she answered back, already in the process of doing so. Within a matter of moments, the video of the duel was streaming across the screen of Kaiba's laptop, giving him a much closer view of the two participants, and much to the young CEO's amazement, it seemed the other duelist in question was indeed the boy's sister. The duel started out simply enough, and the Tsukino boy seemed to be at least half as good as the reports suggested, but the real story in this was Usagi. According to what was being said on the video, she had never been in an actual duel before that point, and yet surprisingly enough was not only holding her own, but even outwitted and outsmarted the younger duelist, even managing a few successful combinations before finally winning the duel.

'And to think, she's only an amateur, and yet she managed to come from behind and take out a duelist who'd been dominating in the junior tournaments as of late,' Seto thought as the video came to an end, starting to wonder if Sugoroku had been right on the money with her, "Miss Williams, I want you and your team to continue to keep all tabs on the Tsukino girl, and keep me informed of any new data or information you find, is that understood?"

/"Understood completely, Mr. Kaiba,"/ Miss Williams replied.

With that done, Kaiba hung up the phone and leaned back in his plush office chair, letting his mind mull over this newly acquired information. Looking back at the monitor, Seto looked at what he'd been working on earlier, and a slight smirk grew on the young man's face, feeling a plan slowly formulating inside of his head, 'I think it's time I shook things up a bit once again.'

-o-o-o-

Back at the Kame Game Shop, everyone was gathered in the dining room, laughing and enjoying their meal while exchanging stories and talking about themselves and each other, and just basically having a good time.

"And so then, Jounouchi and Honda got in front of the mob of fans after telling me and Anzu to run off, and the last thing I heard Jounouchi shout was, 'If you want to take on the King of Games, you've gotta face Katsuya Jounouchi, the Godfather of Games," Yugi said, moving his hands and trying to copy the fake accent that his best friend had used, getting a big laugh out of everybody.

"Sounds like you have some really loyal friends Yugi, if not just a bit crazy," Makoto smiled, helping Sugoroku out with cleaning up in the kitchen. Of course, at first the old man had tried to politely decline her help, but after insisting that it was her way of thanking him and Yugi being such gracious hosts for lunch, not to mention seeing how nicely her chest bounced when she reached up to put the dishes away or grab something off the shelves, Sugoroku was all too willing to let her do as she wished.

Yugi nodded, "Yes, they're my oldest and closest friends, and we've been through a lot together, so we're always willing to do just about anything to help one another." Thinking about it for a moment, he couldn't hold back a small laugh, "Though I'm sort of glad Jou isn't here right now, he'd think I'd been listening to Anzu's friendship speeches way too much, even if it's really how I feel."

"Well, like you said, that just shows you and your friends are really close to one another," Usagi spoke up, "The five of us are the same way to be honest. We've been through so much since we first met one another, but every trial or test set in front of us only made us stronger and grow closer with one another, and now we're closer than sisters."

"If anyone knows more about tests, it's you Usagi, especially with how often you flunk on them," Shingo quipped, earning a glare from his sister, "I think you pretty much set the world's record for consistently low test scores."

"Sad, but true," Rei said, sipping her tea.

Usagi pouted and glared at Rei, "Whose side are you on, Rei-chan?"

"Who's taking sides? I'm just agreeing with facts here," the raven-haired priestess replied.

"It's not my fault the teachers make the tests so hard," Usagi pouted more, crossing her arms.

"Well maybe if you actually studied, you might actually pass once in a while, though fat chance of that happening if you ask me," Rei shot back, igniting once more the tongue war between her and her blond friend, earning several sweatdrops and sighs from the rest of their friends.

Looking to change the subject, Ami turned and politely spoke up, "Mr. Mutou, you've done a great deal of traveling around the world for archeological digs and research, isn't that right?"

"Why yes Ami, yes I have," Sugoroku chuckled, "and let me tell you this, I've seen many different places throughout the world, with all sorts of amazing and astounding things in all of my travels, but still by far the most fascinating finds of my career have always seemed to turn up in the same place: the ancient and mystical sands of Egypt. In fact, that's where I located the box that held the pieces to the Millennium Puzzle," he said, gesturing towards the golden pendant around Yugi's neck.

"The Millennium Puzzle?" Ami asked, leaning in with the others to get a better look at it, "I've heard of it, wasn't it supposed to be part of a set of items from ancient times?"

Sugoroku nodded, "Yes, it is but one of seven relics from ancient Egypt, know collectively as the Millennium Items. As the story goes, whomever could figure out and solve the Millennium Puzzle would inherit the Shadow Games, and become the guardian of right and passes judgment of evil."

"'Inherit the Shadow Games?' Sounds dangerous," Makoto said, looking at the puzzle, "Are you sure it's safe to have something like that?"

"It's probably just an old legend," Minako said, grinning, "Besides, it sounds pretty cool, like Yugi's some kind of ancient Egyptian superhero or something."

Sugoroku just chucked, "Yes, I suppose that's one way of looking at it." The old man smiled, then got a thoughtful look on his face, "Say, I bet I know something else you girls may not have known. Did you know that the modern game of Duel Monsters actually has its roots in ancient Egypt as well?" Seeing that he now had their attention, the old man grinned and continued, "In fact, it was also tied in with the Shadow Games as well. Sorcerers, high priests, and even the great pharaohs themselves commanded ancient beasts and creatures with awesome power, but kept them sealed away in massive stone tablets, sort of how each duelist has their collection of monsters in their dueling decks, but not just anyone could command so many beasts, for it took a great amount of magic and skill to summon even one of the monsters from the tablets, especially the more powerful creatures, like Exodia or the three Egyptian Gods."

"Wow," Usagi said in awe, then reached to her side and pulled her deck from the carrying case she kept on her belt, "And here I thought it was only a neat game, I didn't know there was so much history to it."

While everyone thought about this, Shingo decided to speak up, "Hey Yugi, you have all three of the Egyptian God Cards from back in Battle City, right? Any chance we could see them?"

"Shingo!" Usagi glared, then gave Yugi an apologetic look, "Sorry, he can be a bit annoying at times."

Yugi smiled some, having apparently been expecting that question at some point, "It's alright, I don't mind. I actually have them with me in my deck." Pulling his case off his belt, he put it on the table and opened it up, drawing out his deck and searching through it before finding what he was looking for, "Here we go!"

There was a hush that came over the room as everyone (except for Yugi and his grandfather) leaned in a bit closer as Yugi set out three cards, each one a different color corresponding with the monsters depicted on them: Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra.

Usagi was one of the first to say anything, clearly impressed. "This is so cool, I've seen and read about them, but I never thought I'd get to see them up close."

"Yes, it's not everyday you get to see the three most powerful cards in all of Duel Monsters right before your very eyes, this is a rare opportunity," Ami added, quite taken back herself.

Makoto, Rei, and Minako peered over as well, trying to get a look at the three powerhouse cards. "Are these cards really all that strong?" Minako asked curiously.

"My dear, I'm afraid strong simply isn't the word for it," Sugoroku answered, "There was another prophecy that involved them and the Millennium Puzzle that said if those with darkness in their hearts controlled the three gods and the powers within the puzzle, they would possess the power to plunge the entire world into the shadows." The thought of such an ominous occurrence happening caused a hush to fall over the room as the group examined the three cards, but Sugoroku simply gave a hearty chuckle, "But don't any of you worry, there is almost no chance of that ever happening, especially as long as Yugi has the cards and the puzzle. The world has survived this long, and I don't see it plummeting to its doom any time soon."

-o-o-o-

Deep within the darkest regions of the frigid trenches of the North Pole, there was a large crater of ice several hundred miles wide, as well as a tall pillar of ice that shot up from it, which was quite an unusual formation in such a desolate place. However, known only to a select few in the world, a climactic battle took place in this inhumane environment, one that decided the fate of mankind with many casualties but one ultimate victor.

For you see, this was the final battle between the Sailor Senshi and one of their greatest and oldest opponents, Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom.

Now, much time has passed since that epic encounter, and all that remains of this horrific confrontation between the forces of light and darkness is the frozen battlefield, a reminder to those who remember the battles that took place there, and an omen to all who would choose to wage war against the people of Earth.

However, not all was as peaceful as it appeared on the surface of this vast frozen wasteland. Under the layers of ice and snow that had formed in the years, there was a small, almost unnoticeable disturbance, and then another, and yet another, each time rising in strength and energy. The ice began to groan and crackle from the growing stress placed upon it by the source of this phenomenon, before finally giving way as the cause of it burst forth in a wave of black energy and shards of ice. A glowing red orb set ornately within the top of a long ebony staff, floating high up in the air above the frozen land below, engulfed within the very dark energy which had caused it to break free of it's icy prison. The glowing staff hovered in place for several moments, then proceeded to fly towards the top of the pillar in the center of the battlefield, coming to rest in the middle of it before the dark aura surrounding it began to grow and expand, taking on a humanoid shape, one of a female to be exact, as two red eyes formed where the "head" was. Reaching out with a shadowy hand, the newly reborn being took grasp of the staff, finally taking solid form for the first time in what felt like ages.

"I... live... again!"

-o-o-o-

I'll give you all three guesses who I brought back, and the first two don't count.

Usagi and the gang have met Yugi and have apparently hit it off nicely, but now that this dark presence has arrived, what strange fates await our heroes, and what plans does Seto Kaiba have for the town of Domino? Find out all this and more in the next exciting chapter of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters!"

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life


	5. Chapter 5

I think I've gotten back up to speed, and I've got a whopper of a chapter for you guys this time. Hope everyone enjoys it!

Time for reviews!

Clint H. Hoyt/King Cobra Clint - Well gee, give it away for everybody! Hehe j/k!

K - Glad ya liked the last chapter, and as for your question, well... you'll soon see. -grins-

Hoshika Megami - Glad ya liked it -smiles-

princess moon shadow - Thanks. Glad ya enjoyed it. -grin-

Usagi Uchiha - Hmm, that's an interesting idea you have... and yeah, she does sort of have the same air about her as Pluto... that'd be a trippy encounter, the guardian of time and the guardian of the Millennium Necklace. Heheh... and yeah, I've seen where people like to pair up Ishizu and Kaiba, I've enjoyed it on occasion myself. To be honest though, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with any pairings yet. Anywho, thanks for all the support, I'm glad to you know everyone is enjoying my story still, and I'll work hard to keep it going as long as I can.

mystic soilder - I don't think you'll be played my friend. -grin- Glad ya like everything so far.

Chibes - GOD, you've got a dirtier mind than I do. XD And if it isn't insanely obvious, Queen Beryl is back. Now, whether or not Yugi and the gang find out who Usagi and company really are, well... you'll just have to wait and see!

Sue01 - Glad ya liked it. Was this quick enough for ya? -grin- I'll do my best to get the next one out ASAP!

SerenaLupin-Potter - Hope this chapter answers your question. -grin-

And that's all for now. I'll let you guys go and read through this chapter, and while you're doing that, I'll be hard at work trying to figure out what to do in the next one. Peace out!

Disclaimer: ... I don't even know why I bother posting this each time. I'm a guy, so you know I didn't create Sailor Moon, and last time I checked, my name wasn't Kazuki Takahashi, so I didn't create Yu-gi-oh! either, which means I don't own either one of those properties. In fact, the only thing I do own is all five seasons of the Sailor Moon anime on DVD (even the Sailor Stars season), four mini figurines of Mercury, Jupiter, Mars and Venus (sadly, Sailor Moon was sold out, so I couldn't finish the set), the first two English Sailor Moon music CDs, the Yu-Gi-Oh! movie on DVD, volumes 1-7 of the first series manga and the first six volumes of the Duelist manga, and at least a few thousand Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

-o-o-o-

Just outside of Domino, on a large tree-covered hilltop, the makings of a rather dreary storm were brewing over it like a thick stew. As the sounds of thunder rumbled over the area, something that hadn't been there moments before suddenly took shape in the center of the peak. An old house, specifically a two or three story gothic looking mansion, appeared from seemingly nowhere, sparking another clap of thunder as if telling just how foreboding this occurrence truly was.

Within the bowels of what had once been a personal chapel inside of the old manor, a large black throne had been erected against the far wall, and the newly resurrected dark queen sat upon it, pondering and plotting a new course of action.

"I'll give this much credit to Nephrite, he had exquisite taste... in more ways than one," Beryl remarked as she lounged in her seat, sipping away slowly on a flute of red wine. "Now, I've been out of the loop for a few years, let's see just how much the world has changed since then," With a wave of her hand, a large screen formed in mid-air in front of her. On it, scenes began to play out from the time of the battle in the North Pole until the present. World events, new advancements, and all other sorts of information flashed before Queen Beryl's eyes, including events in Japan, from the arrival of the Doom Tree, to the Dark Moon coming from the future and the arrival of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen's daughter from the future, to even the addition of new sailor senshi, the Deathbusters, Pharaoh 90, the Dead Moon Circus, even the arrival of the Sailor Starlights and the final battle between Eternal Sailor Moon and Galaxia. Falling back against her seat, having apparently found herself on the edge of it as things progressed until the present, Beryl took a deep breath and sighed, having clearly not expected her enemies to have grown in power or in number as much as they had.

'This could mean a world of trouble for me and my plans,' Beryl thought, taking in all this new information, 'if my enemies have truly grown this much since my 'demise', I might not be able to handle them on my own.' Banishing away the screen, the dark queen pondered for a moment, trying to decide exactly what to do from this point. "It seems that if I'm going to stand any sort of chance against the Sailor Senshi this time around, I'm going to need a bit of... assistance," Thinking hard about it, a light bulb went off in Beryl's mind, and a devious smirk spread over her lips, "I've got it!"

Rising to her feet, Beryl summoned forth her crystal orb and took hold of the staff. Concentrating on the center of the floor for several moments, the dust and air around it began to swirl about, crackling with dark energy before a small portal opened up inside of it. Rising up from the dimensional rift, a large chunk of greenish blue crystal began to appear, but the most shocking thing about the large stone was what was sealed away inside: a man with short blond hair, wearing a gray military uniform, frozen in time with a look of sheer terror on his face. Beryl grinned, "I knew I put him away for a reason."

Raising her left hand ever so slightly, her smirk then faded as her eyes glowed, thrusting her hand out as a surge of dark energy escaped from her palm, engulfing the crystal prison. For a moment or two, nothing seemed to be happening, but quickly several cracks began to form and scatter over its surface, before finally exploding outward in chunks and shards of glassy crystal. Falling to his knees, the man who'd been entombed within the now destroyed rock gasped and coughed, holding his chest and heaving heavily.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Jadeite," Queen Beryl purred, seeming to enjoy the torment she had caused her general in the time of his isolation.

Slowly raising his head up, Jadeite's eyes locked onto the dark queen, a look of pure hatred and contempt written all over his face, "... Queen Beryl..."

Beryl smirked, "How sweet, you remembered me. I'm touched, really I am."

Seething with rage, the blond general glanced around for a moment, then spotted a large, almost spear-like piece of crystal rock, one of the remnants of his former prison. Pulling what strength together he had, Jadeite lunged for the shard, grabbing hold of it, then charging at Beryl like a man possessed, "DIE!"

Having expected this sort of reaction, Beryl easily dodged the oncoming attack from her obviously irate subordinate, and then again as he tried for her once more. This went on for the course of several minutes before the dark queen finally decided to put an end to it. "ENOUGH!" She bellowed, then aimed her staff straight at Jadeite, sending a charge of dark energy barreling towards him and striking him dead center in his chest. The outraged general gave a deafening yell of pain and agony as the bolt channeled through him, sending him into spasms and screaming fits before he was sent crashing down against the stony floor smoking like a charcoal briquette.

"Well now, that was fun, but now it's time to get down to business." With another wave of her hand, Jadeite was as good as new, and soon began to stir on the floor, "Now that you've hopefully gotten all of that out of your system, there is much work to be done."

Getting up to his feet after a few moments of recovering, the blond general lifted his head up and stared at Beryl, apparently not amused by any of this, "... you witch... you ruthless, cold-hearted, vile, unforgiving, completely insane witch... what in that warped and tangled up mess you call a mind honestly makes you believe for even a split second, that after all the pain, all the misery, all the living hell of an existence I've gone through in the time you had me trapped in there like a bug in an ice cube, that I'd ever even entertain, let alone consider the idea of helping you with ANYTHING?"

"Because Jadeite," Queen Beryl replied, "if I hadn't sealed you away in that 'ice cube' as you so eloquently put it, you'd have likely been destroyed by the Sailor Senshi at some point, just as the other generals had been, and as I had been as well."

Jadeite was about to go off on another rant, until he took a moment to process that last bit of information, "... So let me see if I've got this straight, you sealed me away to keep me from getting killed... and apparently, you and the rest of your flunkies bit the dust as well?" Running a hand through his hair as he thought about this, the blond general started to pace around, then stopped before turning and looking up at his queen once again, "Then answer me this. If you died, how in the name of Queen Metallia are you still here? Because if what you're telling me is true, you and I shouldn't even be having this conversation right now, and I should still be serving a life sentence as a pet rock in who knows where the hell I was!"

Beryl contemplated just how to answer her last remaining general's line of questioning, then gave him a smirk, "Well, I do suppose you at least deserve to know that much, so I'll cut straight to the point. I always knew there was the off possibility that somehow my plans would backfire, and those brats in the sailor suits could end up defeating our forces, so I decided to come up with a contingency plan of sorts, just in case worse the worst case scenario actually happened. Starting off, I decided to protect my own assets, and sealed away a portion of my very being into my crystal ball, that way if I should have ever met with my untimely demise, I'd have some way to come back from it however long it took."

Jadeite considered this for a moment, then gave a small nod, "Okay, that explains how you're back among the living, but now for the big question. Why me? You got the general who talks to the stars and actually gets lucky with a response now and then, the general who redefines the term 'Dude looks like a lady', and then Captain Peroxide himself, Kunzite, who at his best was a megalomaniac and at his worst was practically pawing all over the previously mentioned gender-confused general. What, besides the obvious points I brought up, makes me any better than those three miserable impersonations of subordinates?"

Beryl smirked, "Well, despite the fact that you seem to have answered your own question, I'll humor you and answer anyways." Rising up from her seat on the throne, Queen Beryl vanished for a brief moment, only to reappear before Jadeite face to face, "Jadeite, you're a brash, cocky, stubborn, homicidal, back-stabbing, self-serving, egotistical, criminally-insane madman, who'd probably sell out his own grandmother if it meant getting ahead in life... in short, you're exactly like myself, except with a set of testicles." Turning her back to him, she continued, "I knew that if anyone could appreciate the depth and sheer magnitude of my plans, it would be you. Not to mention, you actually succeeded in doing something that took a sheer stroke of dumb luck for the final two of my generals to accomplish, and that was discovering the identities of those accursed Sailor Senshi." Glancing back at him, she chuckled softly, "Of course, the fact that their numbers have increased dramatically since you made that discovery sort of ruins the point, but nonetheless, a success is a success. Plus, I've already found out who those other senshi and their allies are, but I'll get into that later."

Taking all of this in, Jadeite was clearly stunned to say the least. 'More Sailor Senshi? And here I thought only rabbits and cockroaches could multiply that quickly. This might end up being much more difficult than I had expected.'

Returning to her rightful place on the throne, Queen Beryl took a moment to collect her thoughts, "Tell me Jadeite, are you at all familiar with something known as the Shadow Games?"

Coming out of his internal monologue, the Dark Kingdom general looked up to his queen. "... Weren't they supposed to be part of some sort of great and powerful evil several centuries ago during the time of the rule of the pharaohs here on Earth?"

"Correct, but this great evil was eventually sealed away by an equally powerful pharaoh, with the use of several mystical objects known as the Millennium Items." She then grinned, "However, it has come to my attention that this awesome power has returned to the mortal world once again, and with even greater force than ever before. It is because of this overwhelming backlash of pure evil that more than enough dark energy was collected inside of my crystal ball to revive myself years, even decades ahead of schedule, and nearly at full power as well."

Looking down at Jadeite, Beryl spoke once more, "All of this new information has lead me to one conclusion Jadeite: Since the power of the Shadow Realm has been released once again, the Millennium Items which held that great power back have been unearthed."

Jadeite blinked, "So what? We're going to go after these Millennium Items? What good would that do us if they're what sealed this power you speak so highly of in the first place? Wouldn't they just do it all over again?"

"Jadeite, Jadeite, Jadeite! You are obviously not seeing the big picture here!" Beryl said while shaking her head, "The items were not created to seal that power, they were created to control it, to harness it!" Putting her hands together, the dark queen grinned, "Think about it my dear general, if we had been in possession of the seven items the first time we fought the senshi, we would never have needed to go after the Silver Crystal, we could have easily revived Metallia at full strength in no time at all, not even Queen Serenity herself would've been able to stand a chance against us!"

Intrigued by the promise of seemingly endless power, Jadeite grinned, "Well then my queen, if all we must do is gain possession of these items, then what are we waiting for? Let's go and seek them out!" Sadly though, this enthusiasm was quickly squashed as a sudden thought entered the blonde general's mind, "... Wait... just where exactly are we supposed to find the Millennium Items? You said it yourself that they were what sealed the Shadow Games away in Egypt so long ago, so they could be buried anywhere in the shifting sands that cover that desolate wasteland of a country, where would we even begin searching?"

Beryl simply grinned, "That's the beautiful thing Jadeite, we don't have to go hunting through the deserts for them. As luck would have it, I've discovered that the Millennium Items have somehow congregated in Japan of all places, and much more specifically, within the vicinity of a little city called Domino."

This revelation caused Jadeite's eyes to light up. "Well now, that's an oddly convenient coincidence, isn't it? So we know where they are, but that still doesn't answer one very important and vital question: How do we find them?"

"Simple Jadeite, we need only to get our hands one of the items, and one item specifically." Gesturing with her hand, Beryl made an image appear before the two of them, which quickly revealed the object in question, a golden necklace with five ornate spikes dangling from it, looking extremely similar to a dream catcher set in gold. "The Millennium Ring is believed to be able to pick up on the location of the other items due to having a strong resonance with them. If we acquired it, finding the rest of them would be almost effortless."

Jadeite simply stood there, looking clearly impressed, "Sounds like you've already gotten this whole plan worked out. I bet next you're going to say you know where the ring is and who owns it, aren't you?"

Beryl just smiled.

ééé

In another part of Domino, in a darkened room of one of the nicer apartment complexes in the city, another old spirit plots and awaits opportunity, unaware of the trouble drawing near the humble little town.

Ryo Bakura sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he set down his paint brush, having been working on a few improvements to his Monster World board. Ever since Battle City had come and gone, the white-haired duelist had gone back to putting his time into one of his true loves, namely role-playing games and models.

"Let's see... once the paint is dry, I'll give it another once over to take care of the little details, and then all I'll have to do is let it set for a while." Ryo said to no one in particular as he finished a few final touches on a coat of paint on one of his newest lead figures, which bore the likeness of a blond girl in a strange mini skirt outfit with an orange mask and a bow in her hair. "There now, Sailor V is almost ready to join in one of my adventures." He chuckled softly to himself as he admired his work. Having traveled around a lot with his father, he'd had a short stay in England one semester in school, and ever since then he'd developed a small fandom towards the famous super heroine, Sailor V. Of course, now that he was living here in Japan, he'd heard all of the amazing stories and tales (and even seen and owned a few detailed sketches and drawings) of the infamous sailor soldiers that had supposedly been fighting against monsters all throughout the country, but in his heart he still had a soft spot for the original.

'How touching, my light has a crush on a super hero. God, someone get me some Pepto Bismol, I think I'm going to lose my lunch.' A wicked laughter echoed around the room, though truthfully it was only in Ryo's mind.

Nearly dropping his paintbrush, the white-haired teen shook his head, "Be quiet, you cannot do anything to me any more." But the laughter only continued, making Ryo wince some before shaking his head. 'No, if I acknowledge him, he's getting to me. You can do this Ryo, you can resist the spirit inside of the ring.'

Sitting on the edge of his desk, the Millennium Ring had collected a bit of dust, but other than that, it still had the eerie shine to it that betrayed the mocking laughed of the dark spirit within, the spirit Ryo had fought for so long to get control of before finally taking it off and refusing to wear the pendant, cursing the day his father had brought it home to him as a gift during his travels.

'What's the matter Ryo? You seem a little... stressed,' The voice chuckled, 'I've helped you do so much, and this is how you repay me? By locking me in a stuffy desk drawer? I thought you and me were friends.'

Sinister laughter filled the air again, and Ryo clenched his eyes closed. "Shut up! Just shut up! You are no friend of mine, you've only brought me pain and suffering! I will not be a puppet for some ancient spirit who refuses to pass on!"

'That's what you think, my dear light,' the spirit cackled once more, 'Whatever you need to believe to get through the day.'

"Well now, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," A voice echoed in a rather cocky tone, ending the conversation between the boy and the ring.

Turning in his seat to find the source of the voice, Ryo was shocked to see a whirling dark portal open up inside of his bedroom. Stepping out from inside of it, the young duelist was surprised to see a tall man in a strange gray and black uniform. Gulping some, he glanced around, not sure what to do. "Wh-who are you? What do you want?"

The man smirked, "How rude of me, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Jadeite, General in the forces of Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom," he said and took a bow, "... and as for what I want, well that's an easy one. You have something that my queen desires, something of great value, something with a great deal of dark power inside of it." He grinned, "If you're a good boy and hand it over the Millennium Ring, I'll make sure you are not harmed. However, if you refuse... well, I cannot be held responsible for what will happen to you."

Filled with dread, Ryo sat there and stared at the man calling himself Jadeite, unsure of what to do. He knew if he gave up the ring, he'd be rid of the spirit and its influence in his life, but if he did that, who knew what sort of terrible things this man and this 'Queen Beryl' person might do with it. However, he knew he would not stand a chance against him should things turn ugly, so he knew he had no choice. Gulping, he sighed, "Okay, just don't hurt me." Turning around slowly, he reached to the end of the desk, "If you want the ring so badly, then yo-" Ryo never finished what he was going to say. For the moment his hand touched the ring, the world went black for him, and a dark smirk soon spread across his face.

Jadeite stood there with his arms crossed, waiting patiently for the young man to hand over the ring. "Well? My patience can last only so long my friend. Are you going to give it up or not?"

A low chuckle left the white-haired boy's lips, and in an instant, whirling around to face him was not the sweet and timid Ryo, but the dark and wicked spirit that dwelled inside of the Millennium Ring, Bakura. "Well heir general, if you truly desire to take my Millennium Ring away from me, then there's only one way I can allow you to do so."

Jadeite blinked, sensing a change in the boy's look and personality, but did not dwell long on it. "Oh really now? And just what would that be my friend?"

"Why it's perfectly simple," Bakura said, grinning from ear to ear. "You must defeat me in a duel."

The blond general looked at him like he'd grown a second head, then proceeded to laugh, obviously amused by this. "A duel, you say? I'm afraid that wouldn't be very fair to you my young friend, seeing how you're completely unarmed, and I'm a masterfully trained general of the Dark Kingdom's army."

Bakura laughed out loud, grinning sadistically, "Oh I'm sorry heir general. I'm afraid you seem to have misunderstood me. For you see, it's not that kind of duel." Standing up from his seat, the ancient spirit stared the blond general straight in the eyes, "To take my Millennium Ring, you'll have to defeat me in a game of Duel Monsters." As he said this, he pulled his left arm out from behind his back, a duel disk seeming to have attached itself to his person out of nowhere.

Jadeite looked stunned, still laughing softly to himself, "You honestly believe a mere boy like you can best me, the main general to the Dark Kingdom, in a stupid card game? You really must be crazy."

Bakura just smirked, "Well then my friend, if you feel so confident in that notion, why don't you put your money where your mouth is. Instead of the standard 4000 life points total, we both get double that, bringing it up to 8000, and if you do win, I'll give you the Millennium Ring without any fight, and all the powers it has within it will be yours to command... but..."

"But?" Jadeite inquired.

"Yes, there is a but," Bakura replied, "If I happen to win, I want something from you in return. That's the bargain. Are you man enough to accept it?"

Jadeite pondered this for a split moment, then chuckled, "You have yourself a deal." Extending his left arm, a much darker version of the duel disk appeared on his person as well.

Both men prepared their decks, then after a few moments they shuffled them before inserting them into the disks. "Before we begin, I think a change of scenery is in order. Being a part of this 'Dark Kingdom', you should probably feel right at home ... in the Shadow Realm!"

Before Jadeite could even say a word, the Millennium Ring began to glow with life, and the world around the two adversaries began to fade out, quickly being replaced with the darkness and emptiness of the shadows. Bakura cackled, drawing his five cards, "Ahh, much better, my host's bedroom seemed a bit cramped for what we were about to do, don't you agree?"

Letting his eyes wander over their new surroundings, Jadeite smirked before drawing his five cards as well, "Not bad. Queen Beryl told me of the inner workings of the Shadow Realm, but I never thought I'd actually see it in person. However, it will take more than being plunged into darkness to defeat a general of the Dark Kingdom. Prepare to meet your end, my friend!"

"You wouldn't be the first person to make that threat to me, general, but who knows, perhaps today will be your lucky day," Bakura shot back.

"DUEL!" The two cried out, announcing the start of the game.

-

Bakura: 8000

Jadeite: 8000

-

"Since we happen to be on my home turf, as that mutt Jounouchi would put it, I'll take the first draw," Bakura said with a tone of cockiness in his voice, drawing his first card. Looking to his hand, the dark spirit grinned, 'Excellent, I should have this fool taken out in only a matter of turns.' Plucking two cards from his hand, he inserted them into the open slots in his duel disk, "I'll start things off by placing two spell or trap cards face down, and then I'll follow up by playing a monster face down in defense mode." As he said this, three large cards appeared on the playing field between the two of them, all face down. "I'd do more, but I thought I'd give you a sporting chance, your turn, heir general." Bakura said with a mocking salute, chuckling even more.

Not paying Bakura's chattering any mind, Jadeite drew his first card, then smirked as well, "Whatever it is you might be planning my friend, I think I've found a way to neutralize it." Taking a card from his hand, he placed it in his duel disk, "I activate the spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon, and use it's effect to destroy one of the two spell or trap cards you have down on the field, and I choose..." Looking to Bakura's side of the field, Jadeite pointed out to one, "the one on the right!"

As the spell activated, a whirling vortex opened up above the two duelists on the field, and the chosen card on Bakura's side was forced upright, revealing a red card with the image of several monsters trying to fit between a very tight spot, before being destroyed in an instant. Bakura chuckled, "I was worried there for a moment, but thankfully you chose the wrong card. That was only my Narrow Pass trap card, something which didn't bother me in losing. But now, let me show you what you REALLY should have gone after. Reveal trap card!"

The trap card lifted up, revealing the image of a ghostly form with the letter 'D' in it. All of a sudden, the shadows around them began to swirl and converge on a single spot above them, and what looked like a large black wooden board appeared above Bakura's side of the field. The board itself had five open spaces, but soon the one on the far right had a letter form in the middle of it, namely the 'D' depicted on the card.

Jadeite, rather surprised by this unusual turn of events, was still wondering what on Earth he'd just seen. "What in all of the darkness of the void is that?"

"That, my good man, would be what will bring about your end in this game, my Destiny Board trap card!" Bakura stated with a sinister glee, "Thanks to this, at the end of each of your turns, I can place one 'Spirit Message' card from my hand or deck on the field, and once I have the letters 'E', 'A', 'T', and 'H' out in proper order on my side of the field, I'll be declared the winner." Counting on his fingers, the ancient spirit grinned and held up three fingers, "So in short general, after this, you'll only have three turns to defeat me before it's game over for you." 'And three turns before I get what I want,' he mentally added.

Jadeite cursed himself for making such an error, quickly trying to find a way to get out of this. "In case you've forgotten, it is still my turn, and I've still got a few moves I can make between now and then..." Plucking another card from his hand, he looked to the other face-down card on the field, namely Bakura's monster, "... like eliminating that monster of yours with this!" Placing the card down on his disk, Jadeite stood back as a large red scaled egg appeared on the field. "Come forth, my Red-Eyes Black Chick!" As he said this, the shell of the egg started to crack open with a fiery red light, and in an instant, the egg shattered, revealing a ruby eyed and ash-skinned baby dragon, spitting forth a few fireballs from its mouth. (800/900) Thrusting his hand outward, Jadeite pointed towards the face-down card, "Red-Eyes Black Chick, attack this fool's face-down card with Pyro Burst!" The black hatchling chirped before leaping into the air, letting go with a good sized fireball and sending it crashing into Bakura's card. Flipping up, the card became the image of several lost souls, all of which gave off a series of unholy screams as they were vaporized by the blast from the Dark Kingdom general's monster.

Bakura just smirked, clearly unimpressed, "So you destroyed my Souls of the Forgotten, it was a weak monster to begin with, plus it was in defense mode, so your baby dragon didn't even phase me."

Jadeite chuckled, "Oh really, then perhaps this will in the next turn. I activate my Red-Eyes Black Chick's special ability, and send him to the graveyard in order to summon it's older brother." In a flash, the hatchling vanished to the card graveyard, and in it's place was a much larger, much older, and much more powerful dragon, whose red eyes flashed briefly before it gave a deafening roar. The blond general grinned, "Say hello to my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" (2400/2000)

Bakura's eyes grew larger, obviously not expecting that, "Red-Eyes?"

Jadeite laughed evilly, then pointed again, "Now Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack Bakura's life points directly with Molten Fire Blast!" The great dragon bellowed and reared its head back, then unleashed a barrage of dark flames towards the ancient spirit, making him yell out in pain as the hit connected. (LP: 8000 - 2400: 5600)

Bakura seethed as he recovered quickly from the assault from the dark dragon, "Nice move," he quipped, "Are you done yet, or is there anything else you'd like to throw at me?"

Jadeite smirked, "Now where's that confident cackle I heard from you a few moments ago? Don't tell me you're giving up already." Looking at his hand, he placed a card in his spell and trap slots, "I use the spell card Reload, and add my hand to my deck. I then shuffle it, and draw the exact same number of cards I put into it." Doing all of this as he spoke, Jadeite looked down at his new hand, then continued, "Next, I place one spell or trap card face down, and call it a turn." Also moving while he was speaking, the new card appeared behind his Red-Eyes Black Dragon.

Bakura smirked, "An impressive first outing my friend, but before you forget, my Destiny Board takes effect since your turn is over, and another letter is added to it." Taking a card from his hand, he inserted it into his duel disk, and the letter 'E' joined the 'D' on the board's surface. "Only three more turns before I can claim victory. Now it's my turn." Drawing from his deck, Bakura soon continued. "Now things can truly get interesting. I play the spell card, Premature Burial," he said, putting the spell into play, and a large card with a ghoulish being reaching out from the ground appeared on the field, "and at the cost of 800 of my life points, I get to revive my Souls of the Forgotten from the graveyard." (LP: 5600 - 800: 4800) "However, since I want my spell and trap field open for my Destiny Board, neither of them will be here for very long. For now, I sacrifice my Souls of the Forgotten in order to summon an even greater menace, Dark Ruler Ha Des!" In a flash of light, a tall, green skinned man with a deadly smile and elaborate yet demonic robes holding a jeweled goblet appears on Bakura's side of the field, cackling in a truly wicked manner as it leered at Jadeite and his dragon. (2450/1600) "It would seem the odds are still in my favor, my good general. Dark Ruler Ha Des, attack that wretched

dragon and send it back to the depths from which it came!" As Bakura bellowed his orders to his monster, Ha Des drew his other hand out from beneath his robes, drawing out a large bladed weapon, pulsating with dark energy. With a sinister glee in his eyes matched only by his master, Ha Des spun the blade around in a full circle before slicing through it, sending a long slash crashing into the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, with both duelist and monster laughing wickedly as the great beast came crashing down before disappearing all together.

Jadeite braced himself as his monster was destroyed by Bakura's Dark Ruler, but did not dwell long on it as he only took minimal damage. (LP: 8000 - 50: 7950)

Bakura grinned, "Since your dragon has been slain, I'd say I've done all I can for this turn, so now, it's over to you general. But remember, you only have three more turns, then it's all over." The ancient spirit cackled, leaving the Dark Kingdom general to try and come up with a course of action.

Drawing his next card, Jadeite blinked at the card he picked up. It was the same spell card Bakura had used to revive his Souls of the Forgotten so he could summon Ha Des, Premature Burial. 'This could be useful, but I've got nothing in my hand strong enough to take out that monstrosity yet. But if I don't do something soon, his blasted trap card is going to win him this duel.' Not seeing much else he could do at the moment, Jadeite plucked the other card out of his hand, "I play Luster Dragon in defense mode, and that will do." Placing the card on his duel disk, a magnificent blue and gold scaled dragon appeared on the field, keeping its wings around the front of its body like a shield. (1900/1600)

Bakura chuckled, "You know the drill, heir general, once your turn is over, another letter is added to my Destiny Board from my hand or deck." Pulling his deck from his duel disk, the spirit searched through it for a moment before smiling, "Ah, there we go." Placing the card inside of an empty slot, the letter 'A' lit up in the center of the board, leaving only two spaces still open. Bakura cackled as he shuffled his deck before returning it to its rightful place in the deck slot of his duel disk. "Now it's my draw, and after this, you'll only have two more turns before I win the duel." Drawing from his deck, he then continued his play, "I summon the Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams to the field in Attack Mode!" In a flash, what appeared to be a normal bed was soon transformed as a shrieking banshee emerged from inside of it, cackling like mad as it wielded an ancient shield and sword in both hands. (1300/1800) "Now then, Dark Ruler Ha Des, attack his dragon and send it packing just as you did with his last one!" Chuckling darkly to itself, the vile monarch drew its sword again and struck down Jadeite's defense monster with

ease. Clearly amused by this, Bakura continued, "Since you have no more monsters to protect you, my next attack will go straight for your life points! Gross Ghost, attack the general directly!" Shrieking with sinister delight, the phantasm rocketed across the field, striking clean through Jadeite's chest before circling around, leaving him staggering some from it afterward. (LP: 7950 - 1300: 6650) Grinning to himself, Bakura crossed his arms, "Oh come now general, surely you weren't hurt that much by my monster's attack... or did your 'all-knowing' queen not tell you about the effects of dueling in the Shadow Realm?"

Jadeite straightened up, glaring at the old spirit for a moment or two, then chuckled as well, "Oh yes, she did. Every time you're done direct damage in this place, you actually feel it to your person. But if that's the case, you probably aren't feeling your best either my friend, considering you still have less life points than me at the moment." 'Though the old witch didn't say it'd sting so much,' he mentally added, trying to ignore the growing ache in his chest.

Bakura just smirked, "A stubborn one you are sir, I'll make sure they point that out on your tombstone after the next few turns... but for now, I'll simply turn things over to you."

Drawing once more, Jadeite looked to his new card, then quickly put it into play, "I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards from my deck." In a flash, the green and sinister looking pot appeared on the field, only to shatter almost as quickly as it came. Drawing his two new cards, Jadeite studied them, then blinked, 'This might just be the opportunity I was waiting for.' Grinning some, he then made his move, "Next, I'll summon Element Dragon in attack mode!" A reddish-pink dragon with green wings appeared on the field, looking ready to strike. (1500/1200) "Element Dragon, attack his ghost!" Screeching loudly, the dragon took to the air with a mighty gust of its wings, then spiraled downward towards the ghoulish ghost, striking it dead center and sending it to the graveyard. (LP: 4800 - 200: 4600)

Bakura snorted, "So you managed to strike down another of my monsters with one of your pathetic dragons, my Ha Des will still wipe it out next turn, and you've only got one more turn after this one to defeat me."

Jadeite grinned, "Still plenty of time if you ask me. Besides, I had hoped you would like my dragon, because I'm feeling quite generous right now. So much so, that I decided I should give him to you," he said, "... but only after taking one of yours in trade, of course."

Now it was Bakura's turn to look amused, even to the point of laughing, "Are you completely daft? You must be mad if you think I'd give you one of my monsters!"

Jadeite grinned, "Then mad I am, because now I play the spell card, Creature Swap!" Placing it in his duel disk, the spell soon appeared on the field, showing the image of a warrior caught in a spinning circle of arrows. "Thanks to this, we both select one monster from our respective sides of the field, then switch control of the selected monsters with one another, but cannot change their battle positions this turn. However, since you and I now only possess one monster each, it's quite obvious who is going to get what."

Bakura growled in annoyance as both his Ha Des and Jadeite's dragon vanished, only to reappear on the opposite sides of their fields. "Lucky move, but it will not save you, you cannot possibly defeat a duelist as powerful as myself. I've been doing this since the pyramids were still young, you will soon learn what it means to cross the spirit of the Millennium Ring!"

"We'll see my friend, we'll see," Jadeite said with a smirk, his turn ending.

Bakura glared, but soon regained his composure as Destiny Board's effect kicked in, allowing him to summon yet another letter from his deck, this time the letter 'T' was added to the board, leaving only one space still open, meaning the Dark Kingdom general had only one turn left in which to make some sort of come back. 'There is no way he can possibly pull something like that off, no matter what he has in his deck to work with. I shall once more be victorious, and this fool will learn never to mess with dark magic that's older than the sands in Egypt.' Drawing his next card, Bakura's lip curled into a devilish smirk, "Seems fate might still be on my side. I now play my own Pot of Greed, and draw two more cards." Drawing the two cards from his deck, Bakura continued. "First off, I'll dispose of this worthless dragon of yours by sacrificing it for a much more powerful creature, the Earl of Demise!" In a flash, the Element Dragon was gone, and a decaying ghoul in what appeared to have once been very official looking attire appeared on the field. (2000/700) "And next, I get to use my light's favorite card, Change of Heart!" Placing it in his disk, the card appeared on his side of the field, showing the image of an

angel that was split between light and darkness. "Thanks to this card, for one turn only, I get to take control of a monster on your side of the field, and I choose to take back my Dark Ruler Ha Des!" The wicked ruler chuckled darkly as it returned to it's rightful master even for one turn, leaving Jadeite wide open for a direct attack. "Finally, I'll end things with a direct assault! Ha Des, Earl of Demise, attack this fool's life points directly!" Both monsters unleashed a devastating combined assault on Jadeite, leaving the blond general writhing in pain as his life points took a sharp drop. (LP: 6650 - 4450: 2200) The ancient spirit grinned, "Let's see you try and come back from that my friend. You have but one turn and one turn only in which to defeat me, and quite frankly, I don't exactly favor your odds."

With Bakura's turn over, Ha Des returned once again to Jadeite's side of the field, and the Dark Kingdom general was looked a bit worse for wear. 'He's right, this turn is all or nothing for me. If I lose, not only will I not get that ring from him, but who knows what he'll possibly do to me. Queen Beryl told me that those who lose in a Shadow Game often end up as the victims of something known as a 'Penalty Game', and I for one do not wish to know what this demented fool is capable of in one of those.' Drawing his last card, Jadeite's eyes lit up, 'At last, the card I've been waiting for, and what might end up pulling this off for me!' "Well then, if I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down fighting." Plucking a card from his hand, he placed it into an open slot in his duel disk. "I play a spell card you know quite well, Premature Burial, and use it revive my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" In a flash, the black-scaled dragon returned to the playing field, roaring with fury. (2400/2000) "However, my dragon won't be here for very long, since I intend to sacrifice it to summon it's more powerful form: The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!" In an instant, the Red Eyes Black Dragon was engulfed in darkness, growing much larger and sinister looking. In mere moments, it roared loudly as it's newer, more powerful form emerged, looking like it was covered in black armor with red jewels on it's wings and legs, and one sticking out of the center of it's forehead as well. (2400/2000)

The ancient spirit was stunned for a moment, then started to laugh loudly, "And here I was almost afraid of what was coming. You gave up your monster for one with the exact same attack and defense? What good is something like that going to do you?"

Jadeite just smirked, "Simple my friend, it's effect more than makes up for it."

Bakura blinked, "It's effect?"

"Yes!" Jadeite grinned, "You see, for every dragon-type monster in my card graveyard, my dragon gains an additional 300 attack points, and last I checked, there were four in my graveyard. So do you know what that means?"

"Damn it!" Bakura sneered.

"That's right," the general grinned, "Thanks to that, my dragon gets an extra 1200 attack points, bring it up to a whopping 3600!" The dragon spread its wings and seemed to glow even brighter than before, looking more like a ruby dragon than a black one. Thrusting his arm outward, Jadeite pointed towards Bakura's side of the field, "Dark Ruler Ha Des, strike down his Earl of Demise, and Red-Eyes, attack him directly!" Both monsters charged with a great fury, Bakura's own Ha Des striking down his Earl with a shadowy slash of its blade, while the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon drew back its head and unleashed a devastating burst of dark flames from its mouth, knocking the ancient spirit off his feet from the impact, nearly eliminating the last of his life points. (LP: 4600 - 4050: 550)

Coughing some and getting up shakily, Bakura glared at the general for a moment or two, then gave way to a deep belly laugh, throwing his head back for full effect as his voice echoed throughout the Shadow Realm. "Now that was impressive my friend, truly, truly impressive, you nearly had me there for a few moments." Bakura clapped his hands a few times, chuckling still, "But sadly, you came so close, but still not close enough, and now you don't have anymore monsters to attack with, and your turn is essentially over, so you know what that means, don't you?"

Jadeite cursed, knowing he was right. His monster should've been his trump card, but it still came up short, and now that he didn't have anything left in his hand, his turn was over.

Bakura grinned, searched his deck, then added the final piece to his puzzle, the letter 'H'. In an instant, the entire board lit up, displaying the completed word 'DEATH', marking the end of the duel and the spirit of the ring as the winner. "I told you I would win, general, but you did put up a valiant effort, you should feel quite proud," he chuckled, both his duel disk and Jadeite's vanishing with the end of the game. "In light of this, I'm feeling quite generous, so instead of dispatching you with a Penalty Game as I normally would, I've got something else you can do for me."

Surprised by this sudden display of generosity, Jadeite blinked, "... and what exactly would that be?"

"A simple little request, something I know you'll have no problem with doing," Bakura grinned darkly, "... I want to meet your Queen."

-o-o-o-

Beryl is back, so is Jadeite, and now Bakura has been tossed into the mix. What else is going to happen, and how will this effect Yugi and the gang and the Sailor Senshi? Stay tuned and find out in the next exciting chapter of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters!"

Whoa, this was a long chapter, longer than any I've ever done for any other story, but it was worth it. Since this was chapter five, I knew it was high time for some more plot development, so I took a break with the main cast and decided to focus on the opposition for now, plus, I even threw in a duel, and it was a Shadow Game at that, don't you all feel special? But anyways, don't worry, everyone will likely be back in the next one, and I'll even tell you this much, Yami WILL be in chapter six! -grin- That enough to satisfy everyone? See you next time!

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life


	6. Chapter 6

Well, I think I've kept you all waiting long enough, so here's chapter six!

But first... it's time for reviews!

Hell-Kitten - Hmm, I like your idea, I might just go with that. -grin- Glad you like the story so far, I'll do my best to keep pumping it out as quickly as my lunatic of a muse will allow me to.

K - Thanks -grin-

mystic soilder - Hmm, dunno yet, but hopefully I'll figure something out soon.

princess moon shadow - I'm glad ya like it :)

Sora4801 - Glad ya liked it!

Chibes - Aww, nothing perverted? How sad, perverts are what make the world go round! -runs around in a circle- And besides, everyone knows those twelve step programs are a big fraud, they never work! -giggles- Anyways, yeah, I thought it'd be neat to make a reference to the manga, since that was when Bakura made his big debut as it was, plus the Monster World arc was a total trip! Plus, I thought it'd make sense for Ryo to know about Sailor V, since the dub makes him sound british, I thought maybe he heard of her a few times while traveling with his dad overseas. Besides, I think the two might be cute together. -grin-

Hoshiki Megami - Glad ya liked it! Bakura's evil, but he's also smart, and knew Jadeite would be more useful to him with his soul in tact than to banish him to the Shadow Realm like he'd normally do. Plus it makes for nice plot development if you ask me.

Taeniaea - I'm happy you enjoyed it! Hope this was soon enough for ya! -grin-

kilnorc - Hehe, I liked the idea of the Sailor V figuring too, seeing how Ryo loved role-playing games, and it'd give him a way to toy around with his favorite heroine. -grin- Anyways, I try to do good with my grammar and stuff, but my computer is a bit of a relic, and I don't have Microsoft Word to work with, so I'm stuck on an old copy of Works 4.5, which is just a dinosaur if you ask me. -sighs-

BTW, could someone please get me an English to gibberish translator for dr-fan/mai-lover, I can't for the life of me figure out what the heck he's going on about. -sweatdrop-

-o-o-o-

Disclaimer: ... you know, I do this so much, you should all know it by now, so I'm not going to do it today. Instead, I've picked someone else to do this for me.

Walking into the room with a grin on their face, was a man in a red crushed velvet suit with frills on their sleeves and long silvery hair covering half their face. "No problem Jay-boy," Pegasus J. Crawford chuckled, then looked to the screen, "My friends, Jay Manney does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon. Lord only knows though that if he did, things would be a lot more bizarre and twisted than they already are, and I'd probably get to show up more often than I do." Looking back at Jay, he chuckled, "Is that good enough boss?"

Jay sighs, "Yeah, that'll do." He then looked to the camera, and the two of them grinned before giving the peace symbol, "Enjoy!"

-o-o-o-

After what seemed like hours had passed by, the five senshi and Shingo left the Kame Game Shop, with promises to return another day for more stories and maybe even a duel or two with the King of Games himself.

That evening, once Grandpa had closed up shop for the night, Yugi was up in his room at his desk, his concentration locked fiercely upon a small screen on a portable gaming device. Yes, for once the world famous duelist was enjoying something other than the card game that had made him a household word, and was trying to arrange the shapes into fitting patterns on what appeared to be a simple game of Tetris. Of course, Yugi had long mastered the game, but it was still fun to pick up and play from time to time, sort of an excuse to have a change in routine. Finally though, the computer had moved to a speed that even the spiky-haired teen just couldn't quite keep up with, and it resulted in a game over, but not before he'd chalked up another personal high score, and he shut the device off and set it down on his desk.

Giving a smile to himself, Yugi leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. He had really enjoyed himself that day, for it wasn't often he got to spend the whole afternoon with five gorgeous girls in his own age group, something that he knew his friends Jounouchi and Honda would've been extremely jealous over.

'Be careful Yugi, people might actually think you were gloating.'

Cocking his head back, the young teen laughed softly as he looked towards his bed in the corner of the room. Having finally decided to come out of the Millennium Puzzle for a little bit, the ancient spirit of the pharaoh, or Yami as Yugi and everyone called him, was lounging comfortably on top of the mattress. If not for certain sharper details, and a slight increase in height, anyone who looked at Yami and Yugi would swear they were twins, or brothers at the very least, but of course, this would require people to actually see the former pharaoh without him possessing Yugi.

"What, me, gloating? Perish the thought," Yugi smiled innocently, receiving a deep chuckle from the ancient spirit.

'It looks like you've made yourself several new friends today Aibou,' Yami said, turning on his side and propping his head up on his fist, 'and if the girl with the strange hairstyle and her little brother were any indication, possibly some new rivals as well.'

Yugi laughed softly, "Somehow Yami, I don't think either of us should be commenting about 'unusual hair'," he said, twirling his chair around to face him, "but yeah, they seem like really nice people. That girl Ami, the one with the blue hair, she and Grandpa talked for ages about ancient Egypt and the different places he's explored in, and Makoto, the tall one with the brown ponytail, is supposed to be an awesome cook, not to mention a heck of a martial artist, and she even said she could teach me a few moves if I ever wanted." Thinking back a bit more, Yugi continued, "Minako, the other blond with the red bow in her hair, she seemed really nice too, but I think she was trying hard not to go all-out fan girl on me, and Usagi, the one you were talking about with the unique hair, she and her brother really seemed to be into Duel Monsters, and I got to compare my deck to Usagi's for a little bit. She's got a Dark Magician in her deck too, AND a Dark Magician Girl!"

Pleased to see his partner so enthusiastic, Yami faded from the bed and reappeared sitting on Yugi's desk, 'It certainly sounds like you hit it off well with all of them. I'm happy for you, and happy you've been able to make so many new friends.' Ever since the ordeal with Dartz and the Seal of Orichalcos in Atlantis, Yami had grown very protective of his partner and best friend, still feeling guilty every now and then over letting the darkness get the better of him and nearly costing him his light's very soul. Of course, time and time again Yugi had told him he'd forgiven him, telling him it was in the past and that he knew he never meant to do it, but the ancient pharaoh still wished there was something he could to do make it up to him, to show he was still deserving of the spiky-haired boy's trust, even after setting everything right. So now, he did everything he could to make sure Yugi was happy whenever it was in his power to do so.

A knock came at the door of Yugi's bedroom, making the two look up. "Yugi, there's a phone call for you. It's Jounouchi, and it sounded very important," Sugoroku said, opening the door and poking his head inside.

"Thanks Grandpa!" Yugi said, quickly getting up out of his seat and heading downstairs. Once he got to the living room, he picked up the phone and cleared his throat, "Hey Jounouchi, what's up?" He asked, holding the receiver to his ear.

/"Yugi! Turn on the TV! You've really gotta see this!"/ Jounouchi said over the phone, making it sound incredibly urgent.

"Okay, okay! What channel?" Yugi asked, looking around frantically for the remote to the TV in the corner.

/"Any channel, it doesn't matter, it's showing on almost all of them!"/ Jounouchi replied. /"It's Kaiba, he's making some kind of huge announcement, you've got to see it!"/

Finally finding it, Yugi clicked on the TV, only to see Seto Kaiba's face on it, standing behind a podium just outside of the massive Kaiba Corporation building in the middle of downtown Domino.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I'm standing before you tonight for one reason and one reason only, and that is to make an announcement which will rock the world of professional dueling. For you see, things have gotten way too quiet as of late here in Domino, so in order to shake things up, not to mention the fact that I've gotten a bit of an itch for competition once more, I, Seto Kaiba, on behalf of the Kaiba Corporation, do hereby announce the second annual Battle City Tournament." Kaiba said, much to both Yugi and Jounouchi's shock and amazement. "Beginning next Friday, exactly one week from now, the entire city will be transformed into a battleground for duelists young and old from all corners of the globe. The tournament will last for exactly fourty-eight hours, with a grand prize of one million dollars in cash. As with the previous tournament, each duelist will be assigned one locator card, and at the end of the two day period, all duelists who managed to acquire six locator cards will advance to the semi-final round, where they will battle it out in a secret location that will be revealed once the locator cards are all collected. Also, the ante rule is returning as well, so each duelist will wager their rarest card before the beginning of a duel, and the winner will get the card the loser wagered, making sure that whomever wins the tournament ends up with a rich load of rare cards. A list of complete rules will be posted throughout the week, which you can find at all major card shops throughout Domino, as well as via the Kaiba Corporation website. Any questions can be posted there as well, as well as instructions on how to sign up for the tournament. Thank you, and good night."

The screen changed to show the Kaiba Corporation logo, before changing over to a news anchor, recapping what was told in the broadcast as well as other news bulletins as Yugi shut the TV off with the remote. "Wow, you were right Jounouchi, this is serious! Kaiba bringing back the Battle City tournament, and with a million dollar prize up for grabs."

/"Man, for once that jerk actually did something awesome. I can't wait to try my hand at some of those duelists from other countries, and who knows, maybe this year I'll make it to the final round instead of losing to some maniac bent on world conquest."/ Jounouchi laughed, sounding determined even over the phone.

Yugi grinned, feeling rather pumped himself, "Yeah, you've really gotten a lot better since then, and you didn't do all that bad last time either, especially considering you nearly beat Kaiba afterward. I just wish I could have seen the look on his face when you actually used one of his own Blue Eyes White Dragons against him." Looking up at the clock, Yugi nodded, "Listen Jounouchi, I'll call you tomorrow, okay? It's getting late, and I want to have a good night's sleep for tomorrow. We've got a long week ahead of us if we want to be prepared for Kaiba's tournament, and I know Grandpa's going to be ecstatic with all the business we're probably going to get between now and Friday."

/"Yeah, you're right Yugi. I'll talk to ya tomorrow, or better yet, I'll come over in the morning or something, and we can spend the whole day trying to get our decks in order,"/ Jounouchi said, only to laugh some to himself/"But then again, it ain't like you really need any improvement, you and the pharaoh could beat the pants off of anybody with only a green Uno card, two Aces, a baseball card, and the card with the rules they stick in a deck of playing cards."/

Yugi laughed along with his friend at that thought, then said his good nights and good byes to Jounouchi, already planning what they would do the next day in his head as he hung up the phone.

'So, a new tournament, huh?' Yami said, reappearing beside Yugi in the living room, 'I guess Kaiba and I were on the same wavelength for once, things were getting a little bit dull around here.'

Yugi just grinned, "True, but either way, this is going to be really exciting.' He started out of the living room, then stopped for a moment, "I wonder if I should call Usagi, I bet she'd love a chance to try out her deck in a big tournament."

'Hmm, maybe, but perhaps it might be better to wait until tomorrow, I doubt her parents would be extremely thrilled about her getting phone calls from boys this late in the evening,' Yami suggested, suddenly getting this strange image of Yugi being chased by an irate father with a shotgun, then shook his head, thinking he'd seen one too many cartoons with his light on the television.

Yugi nodded his head, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll just call her tomorrow sometime. Besides, she'll have probably seen the repeat by then anyways."

Yami nodded and smiled, disappearing back into the puzzle as Yugi headed upstairs, both of them deciding to call it a night and worry about the upcoming event the next day.

Later that evening, after Sugoroku and Yugi had gone to bed, Yami was in deep meditation within his soul room, as he often did when he partner slept, seeing how he as a spirit never needed to rest. However, Yami quickly found his concentration being broken as he felt a strange disturbance resonating with the puzzle, and the ancient pharaoh materialized outside of the golden pyramid and into Yugi's room, wanting to make sure no harm had come to the sleeping duelist. Discovering that Yugi was still resting comfortably in his bed, Yami felt extremely confused, unsure as to what exactly he had sensed inside of the puzzle.

'If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn a Shadow Game was taking place, but Yugi is still safe here, and there is no one else around as far as I can tell,' Yami thought, pacing around their bedroom before wandering into the hall, checking out the rest of the game shop just to be certain. After coming up with nothing, the old spirit was just as puzzled as ever. He almost wanted to wake up Yugi and tell him what he'd felt, but considering the long day his Aibou had had, Yami decided to just head back to his soul room and wait, not wanting to disturb Yugi over what might have been nothing at all.

-o-o-o-

The very next day, Usagi and the rest of the girls were gathered inside of Rei's bedroom at the temple for their weekly senshi meeting, but considering the fact that there had not been any signs of new enemies for several months, it was more or less just an excuse to get together and discuss current events.

"Wow, did you guys see what they were showing on TV last night?" Usagi asked, "That rich CEO guy, Seto Kaiba, is throwing this big tournament for Duel Monsters, and the grand prize for winning it is a million bucks!" The blond squealed and fell back onto the couch, "Man, I can't even imagine what I could do with that much money!"

"Probably blow it all on comic books and candy," Rei smirked, earning a glare from their fearless leader and a few giggles from the other girls.

"It does sound rather exciting," Ami said with a smile, "plus you'd have the opportunity to compete against other duelists from all over the world, it's a real interesting chance to interact with people from all regions and walks of life. I'm actually looking forward to it, and I'm even considering entering myself."

"But then again, what if you did get to the finals though? You might end up getting slotted to face someone really difficult, like Kaiba himself, or even Yugi," Minako said, grabbing a cookie from the box Makoto had brought with her for the meeting.

"Those are just the risks you take when you get involved in something this big," Makoto smiled, "Personally, I wouldn't mind trying my skills against them, or maybe someone like Yugi's friend Jounouchi, he placed second in Duelist Kingdom, and nearly beat that creep Marik Ishtar," the amazon sighed, sipping away at her soda.

Usagi giggled, "I think Makoto just wants to stare at some of the male duelists." This got another giggle out of the girls, and Makoto blushed with a smile before tossing a balled up napkin at her. "Seriously though, I'd love to try and take on Yugi, Kaiba, Jounouchi, or anyone else who wanted to duel me. I want to show everyone exactly what I'm made of."

The girls all seemed to share the same sentiment, each one looking forward to the opportunity to test themselves against some of the best in the world, and continued to discuss the tournament for several minutes, but one of them seemed to be off in her own little world for the most part, and for once it wasn't Usagi. Despite still offering a word or two when addressed, Rei for the most part seemed quite preoccupied with something, not really looking up during most of the conversation.

Sensing something was troubling her raven haired friend, Usagi glanced over at Rei, "Rei-chan? Hello? You still with us?"

Blinking some, Rei blushed a little and looked up, "Hmm? ... Oh, sorry."

"What's up Rei? You totally spaced there," Usagi asked, "Something on your mind?"

Not sure if she should say anything, Rei tried to just shrug it off and shake her head, "No, it's nothing, not really."

Somehow, Rei saying that didn't exactly set well with the rest of the girls, and now Usagi was absolutely certain something was wrong. "Rei-chan, no offense, but one of the last times you said something like that about one of your feelings, we ended up nearly having the world destroyed by Pharaoh 90 and Sailor Saturn. Now come on, spill it. What's bothering you?"

Rei was a little surprised by Usagi's sudden directness and seriousness, as were the rest of the girls, but then again, her friend was always full of surprises. 'Plus she is our leader after all; I guess after this long even she's decided to take some things a bit more seriously.' Taking a deep breath and a moment to collect her thoughts, the young miko sighed, "Well, to be honest, I was a little afraid to say anything, but..." Pausing briefly, Rei closed her eyes, then looked to her friends before continuing, "Last night, something felt a little... off, like something really big was looming over head. So, like I always do when I get feelings like this, I headed to the fire room to meditate on it..."

Flashback

The fire was burning brightly in the sacred alter as Rei sat before it in her temple robes. She'd been trying to figure out the cause of this strange feeling that had been going through her mind for over an hour now, but still nothing seemed to clear up, and she was starting to grow frustrated with it.

'This makes no sense,' Rei thought to herself, still trying to concentrate on the flames, 'I know I felt something, but what exactly remains a mystery to me. Please spirits of the flames, guide me. Show me the meaning behind this sense of ill floating over my mind.'

Unfortunately, Rei would almost find herself regretting the brashness of making such a request. For just as she made that silent prayer, the flames of the sacred fire seemed to come alive, growing larger and hotter than she could ever remember them being, almost to the point of overwhelming the young priestess. Despite being within her element, Rei nearly bolted as the flames towered over her, but then, the breakthrough she'd been looking so desperately for finally came in the form of a vision within the very flames themselves. Two great powers, both of them practically spilling over with wicked power and dark magic, sending a chill down her spine from the sheer intensity of it despite the searing flames whipping about before her. One of the two powers had a strange, almost eerily familiar aura about them, as if she'd encountered it once before, but the other one, that was the one that truly frightened her, for while at first it seemed as though the two beings were almost equal, the latter felt as though it were hiding something, something much, much darker, and much more sinister than anything she or the other senshi had ever come across. What would happen next, however, even Rei was not prepared for. The image of the two beings was soon replaced with several different images: the city nearly completely in ruins, under a crimson sky; hoards of youmas and other strange monsters battling against one another, fire seeming to be everywhere. The next image was of some sort of battlefield; what appeared to be the senshi on one end, along with someone with what appeared to be a golden eye glowing on their forehead leading several others whom Rei could not identify, and on the other side, the two dark beings she'd seen earlier, also surrounded by their own forces. The two sides soon clashed, with what looked like Eternal Sailor Moon and one of the unknown allies she assumed commanding three great creatures: a giant blue winged beast charging with a mighty fist, a great red dragon with what appeared to be two mouths on its head roaring as it gathered energy into one of its jaws, and a giant golden flaming bird-like dragon, shrieking as a massive fireball built around it. However, their enemies laughed in unison, then faded away, only to be replaced by a massive being of dark power, nearly as great as the three beasts her princess and the other person were commanding, resulting in a clash that seemed to rock the entire planet to its very core, as though a battle between the gods themselves was being waged there on Earth.

End Flashback

"... after that, everything faded, and the fire returned to normal. I don't know else happened, or the outcome of the battle, but since then, I've had this huge feeling of dread hanging over me. I didn't want to say anything though, since I had thought with Galaxia defeated, and Chaos banished, we would not have any more trouble." Rei sighed, laying back some and rubbing her head.

Everyone else just sort of sat there, obviously stunned by this sudden foretelling of doom that their friend had just dropped into their laps.

"I knew it was too good to be true," Minako sighed, "just once I'd like to go longer than a few months without some other dark force or alien invasion coming to take over the world or blow it up."

Makoto nodded, "Yeah, it feels like no matter how many times we defeat the bad guys, they just keep coming back in some other way, shape, or form."

"Tell me Rei, you said there were two forces, correct?" Ami asked thoughtfully, gaining the attention of the other girls. After a nod from her raven haired friend, Ami continued, "Didn't you also say one of them felt familiar somehow? Is there anything you can remember about them?"

Rei shook her head, "Not really, I couldn't see anything definite about them, but like I said, one of them feel eerily familiar, as if we've faced them before."

Usagi blinked, "Do you think maybe one of our old enemies has come back somehow for revenge?"

Ami shook her head, "I don't see how. Nearly all of our major enemies had either been wiped out or purified, like Neherenia and Galaxia. Then again, there is the possibility that one of our old foes has been resurrected, but without anything concrete or definite, there's honestly no way of knowing for certain until whomever it is reveals themselves."

"Ami is correct," came a voice, and the girls all looked down at the floor, where Luna and Artemis sat by their respective owners. "Until we can find out more about who or what it is we may end up facing, we'll simply have to wait it out and hope things don't get to be too much for us to handle," Luna said.

"Well, I think that might happen anyways, especially since it sounds like we end up calling upon some allies," Artemis spoke up, "Rei, you said that when the two sides met against one another, there were others fighting along side you girls. Are you sure you can't remember anything more?"

Rei thought hard about it, but sighed, "I wish I could, this makes as little sense to me as it does to you guys. The only thing solid I could make out where those three beasts that were summoned. They had a power behind them that was almost overwhelming."

"Three great beasts?" Usagi asked.

Rei nodded, and the rest of the senshi and the two cards looked to their leader. "Usagi, do you think you know something?" Luna asked.

Usagi took a minute to think about it, then looked up at everyone, "... it could be nothing, but... the way Rei described these creatures in her vision, well... this is going to sound incredibly crazy..."

"It's not like we have much else to go on right now," Makoto said, "What are you thinking Usagi?"

Taking a deep breath, Usagi continued, "Well... from the way Rei described them... it almost sounds like the three Egyptian God monsters: Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra."

This idea got quite a mixed reaction out of the others. "The Egyptian Gods? Aren't those from that card game you girls have taken an interest in?" Luna asked, seeming a little confused like the rest of the group.

Usagi nodded, "Yeah, they belong to Yugi Mutou, we met him yesterday when we went to visit his grandfather's game shop. I know it's just a game, but his grandfather said the cards and the game were tied to ancient Egypt and were used to control a great dark power. And since Rei's vision sounded so much like those three monsters, and we were supposed to be fighting a powerful enemy... well, it kind of made me wonder if we might be up against whatever was being fought way back then." She sighed, "I know, it sounds silly, but..."

"Not necessarily," Ami said, "If Mr. Mutou's stories are true, and Duel Monsters really are tied with the Shadow Games, it's entirely possible whatever dark forces that were waging war on the world during ancient times might have somehow been released, and something with that sort of power could very well have revived one of our old enemies, thus explaining the two powers Rei described in her vision."

Luna sighed, "As logical as that theory sounds, it's still only a theory, and until we find out who we are up against, I suggest we all keep alert and just go on with our daily lives. Artemis and I will try and see if we can dig up any information, and then we can try and piece together a course of action." Everyone nodded in agreement, seeing this as the best thing to do for now. The black guardian cat then gave a small smile, "Now then, with that settled, I have this much to say. I wish you all good luck in the tournament this next week, and hope everyone does their best, and try not to make Usagi lose too badly."

"Luna!" Usagi cried, and all the girls and the cats laughed, the mood having lifted exponentially for the time being, though everyone would still try and keep their eyes peeled for any strange activities, even while they competed for the big prize.

-o-o-o-

Wow, things are really starting to get interesting. The senshi discover they might have a new enemy to fight (duh! XD), and Kaiba drops a bomb on everyone by bringing back the Battle City tournament (I know, it's cliché, but I like a little cliché now and then). What's going to happen from here on out? Who knows, but keep your eyes peeled for the next exciting chapter of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters" and find out! See you next time!

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life


	7. Chapter 7

God, I feel like I'm spoiling you all, actually getting out three chapters in just under two weeks! What is the world coming to? Or better yet, where is my muse getting all of this energy?

Anyways, enough of those questions for now. Time for reviews!

Taeniaea - Was this soon enough for you? -sly grin- Heck, I've just completed this one, and I've already got another chapter in the works. God, I'm like on fire right now!

LunarStar Princess Krystal - Hehe, nice name change, though I'm gonna miss just calling you K, you were the easiest name to remember. XD! Anywho, yeah, the vision has kind of been kicking around in my head for a while, I think it gives me something to work towards as the story progresses, though even now I'm still not sure how everything is going to go down. Hope you'll hang around and keep reading! -smile-

mystic soilder - Well, so far only the inner senshi are competing, as well as the Yu-Gi-Oh gang themselves, but that aside, things are still rather open at the moment. Plus, I had planned for everyone to meet eventually, as this chapter will show you.

princess moon shadow - Glad ya liked it. -smile-

Ten-Faced Paladin - Whee! A new reviewer! Hmm, not sure how Rei's psychic abilities will react, though they've obviously been picking up a few things so far, as the last chapter showed, and the crystal? Well, the fic is still young, so you'll just have to wait and see like everyone else.

Hell-Kitten - Heheh, I don't think Jadeite likes Bakura very much, and the tomb robber seems to enjoy tormenting the poor general.

Sora4801 - Thanks!

Man, I've really enjoyed getting back into writing, it's been giving me a real challenge for myself to see how far I can go with this project of mine. I mean, I've already written more for this one story in a mere six chapters so far than I have for any of my other fan stories, and I've even gotten more reviews for it than all the rest as well. It feels good to get all this support from you, my loyal fans, and I'll try my best to keep putting out the high quality chapters I've been giving you so far.

-o-o-o-

Disclaimer: Since I had someone from Yu-Gi-Oh! do my disclaimer last time, I think this time around I'll use someone from Sailor Moon, just to be fair.

A cloud of pink smoke filled the air above Jay's head, and out popped Chibiusa with Luna P, landing in his lap.

"You're just too lazy to do the disclaimer yourself, and you haven't even let me be in your story either," Chibiusa pouted.

Jay sweat-dropped and sighed, "Well, I'd love to put you into it, but to be honest, I didn't really know what to do with you at the moment. However, I've been considering doing a sequel if I ever finish this story, and I've even thought of having you in the lead," he grinned, "Who knows, maybe I'll let you pop up in GX and send you to Duel Academia, how would you like that?"

Chibiusa thought about it for a minute, then smiled, "Alright, but you gotta promise, okay?"

Jay chuckled, "Okay, okay, I promise. Next story I write, you're in it! Now could you please do the disclaimer so this chapter can get started?"

Chibiusa nodded, then hopped up and cleared her throat. "Mr. Jay didn't make Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon or Yu-Gi-Oh!, and he doesn't own them either. If he did, I'd probably have someone else for a daddy, since he really doesn't like Mamo-chan."

Jay grinned, "Ain't she sweet folks?" Chibiusa hops up on his shoulders, and they both look at the camera giving the peace sign, "On with the show!"

-o-o-o-

Back at their new base, Queen Beryl was somewhat displeased. Jadeite had succeeded in bringing her the Millennium Ring, but there had been an unwanted bonus with it: the person it belonged to.

"Now Jadeite, let me see if I have this correct," she said, resting her chin in the cup of her hand, "You went after the Millennium Ring as I asked you to, only to end up in a duel against the person it- no, my mistake, the spirit that inhabits the ring and his host body, and ended up losing to the said spirit, and because of that, he made you bring him here to meet me." Finishing her thought, she looked to her general, "... did I leave out anything?"

"Queen Beryl, neither of us knew the ring would be possessed, and I would have defeated him if not for that Destiny Board trap of his-" Jadeite said, attempting to defend himself verbally.

"Silence!" Beryl said, raising her hand, "... The fact of the matter is you lost, and normally that means I would have you punished, but on the other hand, you still succeeded in your mission, even if it wasn't exactly according to plan." Turning her attention to Bakura, the dark queen continued, "Seeing as you managed to defeat my general, I feel as though I should commend you, there are only a select few who can claim such a feat. Now then, I suppose you realize why we seek the items, am I correct?"

Bakura, who had been bowing respectfully (which in itself would have been a shock to anyone who knew him), stood up and smirked, "I think I've been able to piece things together, but do let me know if I've omitted anything, my dear Queen." Taking a few steps forward, the white haired duelist chuckled, "You and your kingdom are trying to get your hands on the seven items for world conquest and the power they possess, but you do not know where all the items are, so you came after the ring first to try and seek them out thanks to it's ability to detect them." Smirking some, Bakura looked up to Queen Beryl, "With all due respect your highness, this is not my first rodeo, and you are not the first power-hungry monarch, madman, or what have you to try and use the powers of the Shadow Realm for your own personal gain. How do you think someone like myself ended up trapped in one of the items in the first place?"

Queen Beryl pondered this for several moments, considering everything the spirit said, "You make a valid point... what did you say your name was?"

The spirit grinned, "My host's name is Ryo Bakura, but simply Bakura will do, and as someone who knows the powers of the Millennium Items first hand, I'd like to offer my services to you."

Jadeite frowned, "My queen, with all due respect, you cannot be seriously considering listening to this... this boy. Sure, he was able to defeat me, but that doesn't mean he's worth-"

"SILENCE JADEITE!" Queen Beryl bellowed, much to the shock of the dark general, then looked to Bakura once again, "... you were saying?"

Bakura grinned, "Why thank you... now then, before I was so rudely interrupted. I know the workings of my ring inside and out, and know it's able to seek out the other items by resonating with them... however, that won't be necessary, since I already know where they are."

This brought a look of shock to the dark queen, and a skeptical look to her general as well. "If you know all of this, then tell me, where can I find them?" Beryl demanded.

"Not just yet my queen," Bakura responded, "You see, knowing where they are is one thing, being able to take them, that's something else all together." The tomb thief smirked, then continued, "I own two of the Millennium Items myself: The Millennium Ring as you already know, and the Millennium Eye, which I stole from Pegasus J. Crawford after Duelist Kingdom was over and done with. Two of the other items, the Millennium Scales and the Millennium Key, they belong to a man known as Shadi, a being who disappears and reappears whenever he chooses, so taking those away from him might be easier said than done. However, he is the least of our worries, and plus he usually has a habit of showing up when needed, so we'll likely see him soon enough, but for it's the one with the last three items you should really be focusing on: The Millennium Rod, The Millennium Necklace, and the big prize itself, the Millennium Puzzle. These three items are in the possession of a single boy, and his name is Yugi Mutou"

Beryl gave this new information some thought for several moments, "Yes, I see... I've heard of this Yugi you speak of. From what I understand, he's supposed to be one of the best duelists in the world, but then again, I'd expect nothing less from someone who could solve the Millennium Puzzle and unlock the power inside of it."

Bakura smirked, "My, my... you've certainly done your homework, haven't you? But answer me this, did you know Yugi also possesses something else, something with a power even greater than those of the items themselves?" Chuckling softly, the white haired duelist grinned, "For you see, little Yugi has the three most powerful creatures in the game, as well as the most powerful monsters ever in the history of the Shadow Games: The three unstoppable gods of Egypt themselves! Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

This new bit of news managed to even surprise the dark queen herself, and Beryl found herself growing more and more intrigued. "So, this boy not only possesses the power of the puzzle, the rod, and the necklace, but has the gods at his very command as well? He sounds like quite a formidable opponent if I do say so myself," she paused briefly, then smirked, "it will make it all that much sweeter when we eliminate him and take that power for ourselves."

Bakura grinned, "Well then, I think you'll have that chance. It seems Yugi's rival, the boy billionaire Seto Kaiba, is throwing another Duel Monsters tournament all across the city. If we were to somehow become part of this tournament, not only would we be able to challenge Yugi for the items and the god cards, but we'd be able to eliminate anyone else who got in our way by banishing their souls to the Shadow Realm. Plus, I'd finally be able to extract my revenge upon Yugi once and for all."

Queen Beryl considered it, then grinned, "Very well. We shall join up in Mr. Kaiba's little tournament, and before it's over with, the power of the Millennium Items, and even that of the gods themselves, will belong to the Dark Kingdom!"

Bakura chuckled to himself, 'And when that happens, the power of the pharaoh will finally be MINE!'

-o-o-o-

At last, the week had finally come and gone, and the opening day of the tournament was here at last. Everyone had decided to gather at the Kame Game Shop before the tournament was scheduled to start, that way they could all take off at the same time, not to mention Mr. Mutou would be presenting each of them with their first locator card as per the rules of the tournament.

The girls were surprised to get there on time though, since rather uncharacteristically Usagi had actually been up at the right time, and in fact had been up earlier than normal for it, but everyone simply chalked it up to her being super excited about the tournament and not wanting to miss it due to her normal habits.

"It was awfully nice of Yugi and his grandpa to let us come over this early to get ready before the tournament started," Makoto said, carrying a bag on her back and her duel disk on her arm.

"Yeah, Yugi said him and his friends usually did this before every tournament, and thought we'd like to join up with them as well." Usagi smiled, proudly wearing her duel disk as well, "I just can't wait for it to start, I want to try out my Spellcaster deck against all the big time duelists! I even worked on it some just for this occasion."

Ami smiled, "We've all been working on our decks Usagi, I'm sure everyone wants to earn the chance to compete in the finals, especially with a prize as big as what Mr. Kaiba has put down for it."

Rei sighed, "I still don't feel right about competing in a tournament right now of all times, especially with that vision of mine looming over us."

Minako put her arm around the fiery priestess and grinned, "Don't sweat it Rei, if anything happens, we'll kick their butts just like we always do, you just gotta have a little faith. No point stressing about what may or may not happen, right?"

"Minako's right guys," Usagi said with a grin, "Let's just go out there, have fun, and do our best. If anything bad does happen, we'll work together and find a way to beat it, just like any duelists that get in our way to the finals!"

Feeling incredibly motivated, the five girls finally arrived at the game shop and walked through the door, making the bell jingle to signal their arrival. "We're here!" Usagi called out, hoping they weren't too early.

"Hey girls, come on in, we're in the living room!" Yugi's voice was heard shouting from the back, and the five female duelists walked through the front of the game shop into the house part of the building. In the living room, Yugi and his grandpa were waiting for them, as well as three other people the girls didn't quite know. One was a tall lanky blond boy with a cocky grin on his face, wearing a tan jacket, blue jeans and white sneakers, and a white shirt underneath with a set of dog tags hanging around his neck, the next was a guy with brown hair that came to a point in the front of his head, wearing a brown leather jacket and black slacks, black boots, and a red shirt underneath, and last but not least was a girl with short auburn hair, wearing a tank top and a pair of short shorts in tennis shoes.

Getting up from his seat on the couch, Yugi came up and greeted the girls with a big smile. "Glad you guys could make it, hope it wasn't too early for you," he said happily, "Just make yourselves comfortable and then I'll introduce you all to my friends."

Yugi was about to retake his seat, but just as he turned around, he was pulled into a corner by two of his friends.

"Dude, Yugi, how could you hold out on us like this?" Honda demanded, giving Yugi some seriously dark looks.

"Wh-What are you talking about Honda? I'm not holding back anything!" The spiky-haired boy pleaded.

"Don't give us that, Yugi, you know exactly what we're talking about," Jounouchi said, turning his little friend around and pointing at the five girls on the couch. "Dude, how could you hoard so many hotties and not tell us about it?"

"Yeah man, if you were hitting that many girls, you could've at least thrown us a few bones. What kind of guy doesn't share the wealth with his best friends?" Honda asked, only to yelp as his and Jounouchi's heads were smacked together by their female friend.

"Seriously you two, you have no class whatsoever," Anzu said, shaking her head in annoyance.

Laughing some, everyone got settled in, then Yugi spoke up, "Okay, since everyone's here, time for introductions. Jou, you can go first, if that's alright with you."

Jounouchi smirked, "Just fine Yugi. Ladies, I'm Katsuya Jounouchi, but you can just call me Jou. I took second place in Duelist Kingdom, and even made it all the way to the final four in the first Battle City. I might not look like much, but as Yugi will point out, I'm harder to get rid of than gum under your shoe, and I'll always back up my friends no matter what."

Once Jounouchi was finished, Honda went next, "The name's Hiroto Honda, but simply Honda will do. Me and Jou have been friends since way back, and I've followed him and Yugi virtually everywhere they've ended up. I like working with my hands, and I even work on my own motorcycle. I'm not too much of a duelist like Yugi or Jou, but if you ever want someone to practice with, I'm your guy."

"I might be last, but I wouldn't call myself the least," Anzu said, "I'm Anzu Mazaki, and like those two knuckle-heads, I've been a friend of Yugi's for practically ages. I hope to one day become a dancer, and even go all the way to New York. I don't really duel much either, but I'd still give it my best if I had to."

Usagi smiled, "Well, since we now know who you guys are, I suppose it'd only be proper for us to return the favor. Minako?"

The blonde with the red bow nodded, "I'm Minako Aino, I used to live in England a few years back, and I hope to one day become an idol singer. I've been dueling a little bit off and on, and I've been Usagi's friend for a few years now."

Makoto went next, "I'm Makoto Kino. I practice martial arts, and will take down anyone who hurts my friends. I can also out-cook anyone, and love trying to come up with new recipes. I'm a fairly decent duelist myself, and I've also known Usagi a long time too."

"I guess I'm next," Rei said, "I'm Rei Hino, and I'm a priestess in training at my grandfather's shrine. I'm somewhat of a Jill of all trades, though I love music as well and wouldn't mind becoming a songwriter one day. I've got a rather fiery deck of my own, and me and the Odango Atama go way back." She giggled, making Usagi stick her tongue out at her.

Smiling some herself, Ami decided to go next, "I'm Ami Mizuno. I'm a diligent student and somewhat of a bookworm, and I'm studying to eventually become a doctor or a pediatrician. I love the water and enjoy swimming, but I'm also quite skilled when it comes to computers and machines, which my deck reflects a lot of as you might see during the tournament. I've known Usagi and the others for a very long time, they were honestly the first true friends I've had, and I wouldn't trade them for anything."

Seeing that everyone else was done, Usagi smiled, "I'm Usagi Tsukino. I've just started out in Duel Monsters myself, but I've tried really hard to put together a good deck and learn as much as I can about the game. My little brother Shingo plays a lot more than I have, even making it as far as the local tournaments, but I've already managed to get a win over him so far, so I'm feeling quite confident going into the tournament."

"Sounds like we've got quite a bunch of excited duelists here already, and the tournament hasn't even started yet," chuckled a voice, and everyone looked up to see Yugi's grandpa walking into the room. Walking to the middle of the living room, Sugoroku was carrying a small metal box with him, which he promptly set down on the coffee table. "Since everyone is here, I thought now would be a good time to present you all with your individual locator cards, as well as go over the rules of the new tournament." Opening the box, everyone looked inside to see a stack of transparent cards, each with a small design on them. Once he was certain everyone was listening and had taken only a single locator card each, the old man cleared his throat and began.

-

Battle City II Tournament Rules

1. Both duelists begin with a total of 8000 life points each at the start of every duel, twice that of the original Battle City Tournament.

2. Each duelist begins with one locator card each, and needs a total of six to move on to the finals. Once a duelist has collected six cards, they will reveal the location where the finals will be held.

3. During each duel, both duelists must wager at least one of their locator cards, and when someone loses all of their locator cards, they are eliminated from the tournament. You may not give away locator cards to your friends, or accept any from friends and family. Anyone caught doing so will be automatically eliminated from the tournament, regardless of how many locator cards they have. NO EXCEPTIONS!

4. Each duelist must wager at least one of their rarest cards in a duel.

5. The finals will begin as soon as 16 duelists have collected six locator cards a piece.

-

"... And that's about it. Kaiba said that if there are any other rules added or changes in the current ones, announcements will be made throughout the days of the tournament leading up to the finals." Sugoroku said, letting out a slow breath, "My, that was a mouthful."

"Man, I can't wait to get started! I plan to go all the way this year, maybe I'll even finally beat that stuck-up blowhard Kaiba, and finally make him give me some respect, instead of calling me a dog all the time!" Jounouchi said, jumping up and looking extremely excited.

"Or you could just get beaten quicker than you were in Kaiba's last tournament in Kaibaland," Honda said offhandedly, earning a knot on his head from the blond teen.

"Shaddup!" Jounouchi growled, getting a big laugh out of everyone.

Coming out of the puzzle beside Yugi, Yami observed the large gathering inside of the Mutou household. Yugi glanced up at him, but tried not to make it too obvious, not wishing to have his newest friends wonder what he was doing. 'I can't wait to go out either, how about you Yami?'

The spirit smiled down at his partner, and gave him a polite nod, 'I'm anxious as well Aibou, as is everyone it seems.' Looking around, he found his eyes falling on the head of Usagi, a hint of curiosity in his maroon eyes.

Taking notice of this, Yugi blinked, 'Is something wrong Yami?'

Shaking his head softly, Yami smiled, 'No, nothing like that Yugi... it's just... I don't know. I could swear I feel something about that girl. In fact, I feel something from all of these girls to be honest.' Chuckling some, the pharaoh grinned, 'It's more than likely nothing, I'm probably just feeling the overall energy from everyone here, the excitement before the start of the tournament.'

Seeing that everyone was ready, Sugoroku chuckled, "Well, since I have nothing else to say, I only want to wish all of you good luck, and I hope everyone gives it their best out there. Now you better get going, you don't want to miss the opening ceremony for the start of the tournament."

Saying their thanks and good-byes to the old man, Yugi, Usagi, and all of the gang took off out through the front of the game shop, leaving Sugoroku alone. Giving a small sigh, the old man smiled, "I think Yugi might actually get some real competition this year. This is shaping up to possibly be one of the greatest tournaments ever, but no matter what, you kids are already winners in my book."

-o-o-o-

Well, the tournament is about to begin, and all the main characters are together at last. What kind of challenges can the Yu-gi-oh! gang and the Sailor Senshi expect to face in this thing, especially with Beryl, Jadeite, and Bakura looking to join in and come after the Millennium Items and the Egyptian God Cards? Who knows? Even I'm not quite sure yet, and I'm the one writing this thing! Well, whatever happens, we'll all find out together in the next exciting chapter of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters!" Be there!

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life


	8. Chapter 8

How I keep cranking this out is just mind boggling to me, but oh well, here's the newest chapter for all of you to enjoy... but first...

Time for reviews!

Ten-Faced Paladin - Oh you don't know the half of it. Business is definitely about to pick up now that the terrible trio is entering the tournament, and there's no telling what Bakura might do with such allies as that. And as far as Yami goes, I don't think our dear pharaoh has even begun to grasp what can of worms he's getting into.

Kayla Tsukino - Heheh, nice name hun. -gives you an Atemu plushie- Yeah, I'm having fun writing this fic, it's definitely the longest piece of work I've written in just the total of words I've typed so far, and the plot and ideas just keep cranking out of my head, but I have to say, it helps having such devoted fans who keep tossing suggestions my way. And yeah, I know some people tend to write having the girls acting a bit differently than normal or sometimes changing things radically (i.e. making them related to certain characters or stuff like that) when doing crossover fics, but to be honest, unless something really good pops into my head, I'm gonna try to keep both sides of this thing as faithful to the originals as possible. Oh yes, and as far as the Jadeite/Bakura duel went, for some reason while writing it, I kept thinking people might end up seeing Jadeite as the underdog, even though he was the one trying to take the ring from Bakura. -chuckles-

LunarStar Princess Krystal - Yes, those two together does seem to spell doom and gloom, doesn't it? -grin- Hmm, I did consider using Weevil and Rex at some point in the story... who knows? I might do something interesting with them, after all, it just wouldn't be a tournament if they didn't get their regular ass-whooping, now would it? -snickers-

princess moon shadow - That it is my friend, that it is.

Taeniaea - Well I'm glad to hear it. -smile-

Chibes - Yes! Never give up! Never quit! -cackles- LOL, yes, Jadeite did end up getting punked out there, didn't he? Oh well, maybe he'll get even later on. -smirk- As far as Mamoru's whereabouts, still up in the air about that, haven't figured out what to do with him yet. -scratches head- Hmm, bringing in Haruka and Michiru, eh? Well, I had thought of just using the inners for this, but who knows? There might be potential there, you'll just have to wait and see. -smiles-

Sora4801 - Couples are still possible, I just haven't gotten to a point in the story where I feel it'd be good to dive into them just yet, but don't worry, something is bound to happen before too long. -smile- Oh, I'm glad someone commented about my GX idea, I'm still thinking about that one, but not sure if I'll go through with it. But you never know. Just keep your eyes peeled. -grin-

Hell-Kitten - Ooo, someone else who thought of the duel spirit idea. I've given it a lot of thought myself, so keep an eye out, you might just see something pop up in one of the next couple of chapters. -grin-

... Could someone please get dr-fan/mai-lover a copy of Hooked on Phonics? They need it in the worst possible way.

Seriously though, I appreciate all the reviews and support you people give me, and knowing that you all enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it really makes me happy to keep doing this. We've gotten going pretty good so far, but I still see a lot more to be done before we even get close to the end of this thing, so look forward to many more chapters after this one, we're practically just getting started here.

-o-o-o-

Disclaimer: A black cat with a crescent moon mark on her forehead pops up and clears her throat. "Jay asked me to tell everyone this in case they are still not aware of it. He did not create Sailor Moon or Yu-Gi-Oh!, and does not own either property. If he did, this story would probably be made into a manga or an anime already and we would not be having this conversation, now would we?"

Jay pops up beside Luna and both of them smile. "Now on with the story!"

-o-o-o-

At exactly eight in the morning, hundreds of people were gathered in Domino Square, where a large stage area with an enormous video screen had been set up, and television cameras were set up all over the place, ready to broadcast this whole thing to the entire world. The crowd was buzzing and extremely lively, apparently anxious to start things off in the tournament, and even Usagi and Yugi and all of their friends had gathered there for the opening ceremony.

"Man, I wish Kaiba would hurry up and get this show on the road, I want to be out there dueling already, not sitting here waiting for his rich ass to do his thing," Jounouchi said in annoyance, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Yeah! I want to be earning my other locator cards already, can't we start without him or something?" Usagi added, looking just as annoyed as Jounouchi was.

"Just chill out a little longer guys, Kaiba wouldn't make everyone wait out here after going to all the trouble of throwing this tournament if he was going to be late for it," Yugi said, trying to ease the tension a little bit.

"Yeah Usagi, there will be plenty of time for you to lose your first duel, don't worry," Rei said with a grin, earning a dirty look and an out-stuck tongue from the blonde, which Rei returned in kind, making the two groups of friends sweatdrop all over. This would have likely continued further if not for the fact that at that moment, the sound of a helicopter became noticeable in the distance. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the sky, as a white helicopter flew towards the stage, bearing the mark of Kaiba Corporation on the side of it. Beginning to descend, the aircraft slowly came down with a gust of wind, and everyone braced themselves as it landed in the large clearing next to the stage. Several men in black suits and sunglasses moved towards the helicopter, unrolling a red carpet all the way up to it before one of them stepped forward and opened the door to the aircraft. Stepping down out of the helicopter first was a young boy dressed in blue jeans, a blue and white striped shirt, and a yellow vest, with long black shaggy hair that went down all the way to the middle of his back, and a rather excited look on his face. The other person to step out was much older and much taller, a young man in a long sleeveless coat with a black skin tight shirt with black straps on each arm, wearing black pants, black and silver boots. His hair was a light brown and fell down all the way to the end of his neck, and he had the most piercing blue eyes anyone had ever seen. The great crowd started cheering immensely, because the Kaiba brothers had finally arrived.

Jounouchi snorted, "About time that jerk arrived, figures he'd have to make his big grand entrance." Everyone pretty much ignored him though, because the two brothers made it up onto the stage and stood at the podium, where Seto Kaiba was about ready to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, duelists of all ages, welcome to Battle City II!" Seto said, getting a huge ovation from the people all around him. "I could go on and give some huge speech about what an honor it is to have you all here, but since I know none of you give a damn about that, I'm cutting right to the chase. So without a further adieu, let the tournament begin!"

The crowd cheered loudly, and a big fireworks display was shot off, signaling the start of the tournament, and the two Kaiba brothers soon left the stage, heading back to the helicopter to make their way toward Kaiba Corporation.

"Looks like we got a really big turn out this year, Seto. I bet we even topped the attendance from last time," Mokuba said as he climbed in with his big brother, strapping himself into his seat.

"And not even half of them will see it to tomorrow in the tournament," Seto snorted, strapping himself in as well as the door was shut, "Once all the would-be challengers have been weeded out, then the real competition will begin. At least this time there won't be any crack pots wielding golden rods trying to conquer the world, and if all goes well, I'll finally get my rematch with Yugi, which I plan to win, God Cards or no God Cards."

"But what about that girl and her friends you've been searching for information on? What if she makes it to the finals too?" The younger Kaiba brother asked, "You've really been obsessing over them, almost as much as you normally do with Yugi."

"I don't obsess Mokuba, I study and observe," Seto stated, "and if by some chance that girl Usagi or any of her little playmates do end up making it all the way to the next round, I will be genuinely impressed." 'Though I am curious to see how well she ends up doing,' he thought to himself, glancing out the window of the cabin as the helicopter flew off. 'Here's hoping you prove to be worth my time after all.'

-o-o-o-

After the opening ceremony was over, the entire crowd had dispersed, with every duelist and their grandmother heading off into the city to find someone to challenge. Yugi, Usagi, and the rest of the gang had decided to go their separate ways as well, though swearing to keep in contact through their cell phones, and swore to meet up around noon to check in with each other and see how much progress they'd each made so far. Wishing everyone good luck, the senshi and the fab four all took off in different directions, knowing they had the support of their friends no matter what came at them.

Trying to find her first opponent, Makoto walked up the sidewalk through town, keeping her eyes open as she saw different duelists challenging one another and several duels going on all at once. "Usagi was right, this really is exciting," the amazon said with a big smile on her face, "I hope my warrior deck is up to the challenge, it looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me."

Just up the block, Makoto caught sight of something interesting, and started to run ahead, wondering just what it was. A strange man was making some sort of scene near a fountain in the middle of the town square, and a good sized crowd was starting to form around him. The odd looking fellow had long shaggy brown hair, and was wearing what looked like a lab coat with make-shift body armor, and had what looked like a metal colander ontop of his head. Makoto would have likely just ignored the man, until she heard something he said, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"People of Earth, I know what I speak is true! I, Sidney Pullman, will prove to the world that aliens are walking among us! They've been around for thousands of years, and have been fighting along side even as far back as a thousand years ago! The moon used to be inhabited by a great kingdom, as were all the other planets, and now, their people have been reborn here on Earth, and walk among us like regular human beings!" The man proclaimed, getting a few odd stares as a small crowd of people surrounded him. "I plan to win the new Battle City tournament, and use my time and the prize money to send my message to the world, and warn the masses of the impending doom should these beings from other worlds be allowed to take power! Its already going to happen, and their leaders have already gathered together and have been waging battle here on Earth against beings from other worlds!" Pushing up his glasses, the man pulls out a long tube from his coat and draws out the contents. "My friends, what I am trying to tell you is this! The war being fought is real! The beings I've been speaking of have been in the news for years now! The monsters you've seen on television and in the papers, they are the dark forces these people are fighting against, and the people who came from the stars, they are Japan's own heroines, the Sailor Senshi!" The man unrolled the paper he removed from the tube, showing a poster of Sailor Moon and the other senshi.

A bit weirded out by this guy, Makoto decided to take matters into her own hands, and find a way to shut him up, especially since his ramblings were hitting a little close to home for her and the girls. 'And the last thing we need is some nut job telling everyone the whole world we're really aliens... even if it is slightly true.' Making her way through the small crowd that had formed, Makoto called out to the man as he continued preaching his message to the masses. "Hey fella! You have to win the tournament before you can do anything with the prize money, and that means winning duels instead of running your mouth about crazy things like aliens!"

The man called Sidney turned his attention to Makoto, then grinned widely, "Ah, a non-believer! I've run into plenty of your kind before young lady, but I assure you, I will win this tournament, and then tell the whole world my message! However, if I have to prove myself to you, I'm more than willing to do so!" As he said this, he raised his left arm, activating his duel disk in the process.

Makoto snorted, powering up her duel disk as well, "This is one way to make my start in the tournament, though I didn't think I'd end up fighting a crazy person."

"I AM NOT CRAZY!" Sidney twitched, then glared at the dueling amazon. "You're the one who is crazy my dear, challenging a man of my stature, I'll defeat you, and anyone else who tries to silence me!"

"LET'S DUEL!" The two shouted, and the crowd watched as they prepared to throw down against one another, both drawing five cards each.

-

Makoto: 8000

Sidney: 8000

-

"Ladies first, as they say," Makoto said, drawing her sixth card, then looking at her hand for a moment or two before making her first move. "First off, I'll play a spell card, Reinforcement of the Army, to add one level four or lower Warrior-type monster from my deck to my hand, then I'll shuffle my deck." Pulling her deck from its slot in the duel disk, Makoto sifted through it for a few moments before pulling the card she picked from it and added it to her hand, then shuffled her deck before putting it back in her disk. "Next, I play one spell or trap card face down, then I'll summon Goblin Attack Force in attack mode!" Drawing the card from her hand, she placed it face up on her duel disk, and in a flash of light, three green monsters in combat gear and wielding large spiked clubs appeared on the field. (2300/0) "Since I can't attack on my first turn, I'll end things for now. Your turn, astro man!" Makoto giggled, and the crowd got a chuckle as well.

"You won't be laughing for long, girl!" Sidney said, then drew his card, "I'll play the spell card, Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards." The green pot appeared on the field, only to shatter in an instant, and Sidney drew his two cards. "Next, I'll play two spell or trap cards face down, then I'll play a monster face down in defense mode!" Placing the three cards into his disk, they soon appeared on the field as well. "However, I'm not quite done yet, for now I play another spell card, Brain Control! By giving up 800 of my life points, I can take control of one of your monsters for one turn, and since you only have one, I choose those little green men of yours, your Goblin Attack Force!" Placing the card in his deck, a large gray brain appeared on the field, and hands reached out from it, forcing Makoto's goblins to move to Sidney's side of the field. (LP: 8000 - 800: 7200) "You see, this is the sort of thing that will happen should the aliens try and take over! They'll use mind control techniques to turn our allies against one another and us as well! So consider this a warning to everyone! Goblin Attack Force, attack this girl's life points directly!" With a dazed look in their eyes, the three goblins charged towards their true owner, beating their mistress with their clubs and making Makoto back down some. (LP: 8000 - 2300: 5700) Sidney grinned, "And thanks to your monster's effect, now that it has attacked, it is changed to defense mode, and cannot go back until the end of your next turn, but just to be safe, I'll play one more spell card, Swords of Revealing Light, which will prevent you from attacking me for three whole turns!" Placing the spell into his disk, Makoto soon found herself trapped behind a fence of glowing blades, much to her annoyance. "With that said and done, I now end my turn, and you get your monster back now, though a lot of good it will do you at the moment." He chuckled, and the three goblins returned to Makoto's end of the field, kneeling down on the ground with their clubs in front of them.

Recovering quickly from the attack by her own monsters, Makoto gave the goblins a forgiving look, "Don't worry boys, I know you didn't have any choice in the matter." Hearing this, the three goblins almost seemed relieved, and Makoto drew her next card, "You're going to regret doing that Sidney, for now, I play a spell card of my own, Giant Trunade!" Placing it into her disk, the spell card appeared on the field. "Now, all spell and trap cards on the field return to their respective owners' hands, and that includes your Swords of Revealing Light!"

Sidney grumbled as all his spells and traps returned to his hand, and the swords surrounding Makoto's end of the field vanished for the moment. "Don't get cocky girl, I'll simply bring them back next turn, so you're only getting a short reprieve."

Makoto just smirked, "Then I'll have to make good with the time I do have, and I plan to. For now, I summon my Marauding Captain in attack mode!" In a flash, a blonde-haired man in silver armor with a black and red cape appeared on the field, wielding two large swords in both hands. (1200/400) "And thanks to his effect, since he was normal summoned, I get to special summon one level four or lower monster from my hand, so now I get to summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard in attack mode!" In a flash, an Elven warrior that looked remarkably similar to the normal Celtic Guardian appeared on the field, a fierce look in its eyes as it wielded the large sword in its hands. (1400/1200) "Now Obnoxious Celtic Guard, slice and dice Sidney's face down monster!" The Elven warrior charged forward, giving a battle cry as it brought its sword down on the face down monster, shattering it in an instant as the monster's form appeared for only a moment.

Sidney grinned, "I was hoping you would do that girl, for now my Night Assailant's special ability kicks in, and I get to pick one monster on your side of the field and destroy it! So kiss your Goblin Attack Force goodbye!"

Makoto frowned as her goblins were destroyed, but that only seemed to make her look even more determined, "They might be gone for now, but they're not going to stay there for long, for now I play another spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive, which lets me pick one Warrior-type monster from my graveyard and add it to my hand, so my Goblins get to come back to my hand for another try next turn!" Pulling the card from her graveyard, Makoto added it to her hand, then smiled, "Now, Marauding Captain, attack this goofball's life points directly!" The soldier drew both blades out, then charged towards Sidney, doing a double slash on him and taking a nice chunk out of his life points. (LP: 7200 - 1200: 6000) "That'll teach you to mess with me and my warrior monsters. Now, I end my turn," Makoto said, turning things over to her opponent.

Sidney drew his next card, then proceeded to make his move, "I place two cards face down, then I summon a monster face down in defense mode." Doing as he said, three face down cards appeared on his side of the field before he continued, "Now then, I play my Swords of Revealing Light again, stopping your precious warriors from attacking me or my monsters for three turns." Placing it in his disk, the glowing swords reappeared around Makoto and her monsters, much to her annoyance. "Finally, I'll play another spell card, Reload, allowing me to add my hand to my deck, shuffle it, then draw the exact same number of cards that were in my hand." Taking a minute to do everything he said, Sidney drew his cards before returning his deck to its slot in his duel disk. "That's all for now, but this is only the beginning. Soon, I'll win this duel, and go on to make good on my word of claiming the grand prize!"

"In your dreams," Makoto said, drawing her next card. Looking to her hand, the amazon senshi pondered what to do. 'I can't attack him right now due to his swords, so I'm basically stuck for now,' she thought, then looked at the card she drew, '... this might help me some.' Looking to Sidney, Makoto nodded, "I play a spell card of my own, namely my second Reinforcement of the Army!" Placing it into an open slot in her duel disk, Makoto continued, "As you already know, I can use this to add one level four or lower warrior from my deck to my hand, then shuffle my deck." Looking through her deck for a moment, she then picked a card out of it and added it to her hand, then shuffled her deck before returning it to her duel disk. "Because of your swords, I can't attack you for a few more turns, but I can still take your monster down! I summon Exiled Force in attack mode!" In a flash, an army of soldiers appeared on her side of the field, looking ready for a fight. (1000/1000) "Thanks to Exiled Force's special ability, I can tribute it face-up on my side of the field to destroy one monster on the field, and I choose your face down!" The soldiers all yelled and charged at the card, dog-piling on top of it before exploding, and taking the card with them to the graveyard. "Next, I switch my Marauding Captain and my Obnoxious Celtic Guard to defense mode, and end my turn."

"Not bad, but you still won't win against my alien deck," Sidney said, drawing his next card, "I activate one of my face down cards, Call of the Haunted, and use it to bring back a monster from my graveyard in attack mode, and I choose my Slate Warrior!" As the trap rose up, a strange looking blue and gold armored being appeared on Sidney's side of the field. (1900/400) "Next, since that was a special summon, I still get to use my normal summon, so now I call forth my Alien Skull in attack mode!" In a flash, a bizarre alien creature that looked similar to a skeleton appeared on the field, hissing menacingly at Makoto. (1600/1800) "Now, Slate Warrior, attack her Marauding Captain, and Alien Skull, attack her Celtic Guard!" The two monsters charged, and struck down Makoto's monsters one by one, leaving her field bare except for her trap card.

"I activate my trap, my own Call of the Haunted, and bring a monster from my graveyard back to the field, and I choose Exiled Force!" Makoto yelled, and her trap card rose up, causing the small army to return to the face in attack mode. (1000/1000)

Sidney frowned, "Whatever, I end my turn."

Makoto drew her next card, then stared at it, 'Just one more turn after this one before I can attack, but it would be wise for me to defend myself somehow.' "I place a spell or trap face down, and then I summon Goblin Attack Force once again from my hand in attack mode!" Placing the cards into her duel disk, her face down card and the three goblins reappeared on her field. (2300/0) "And now, I use my Exiled Force's special ability again, letting me tribute it face-up to destroy one of your monsters, and I choose your Slate Warrior!" The band of soldiers charged head first at Sidney's monster, and both monsters went up in smoke, heading straight to the graveyard. "With that, I end my turn."

Drawing his next card, Sidney made his move, "I play one card face down, and summon a monster face down in defense mode as well, and that will do for now." 'Things are about to work into my favor,' he chuckled as he thought to himself.

Makoto frowned, 'I don't like those two cards he just played, there's no telling what they might be.' "I play the spell card, Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards." Placing the card in her graveyard, she then drew two more from her hand, only to gasp. 'This could turn things back into my favor,' she thought. "Now I summon a monster from my hand, The Fiend Megacyber, in attack mode!" In a dazzling flash of golden light, a lare golden armored warrior appeared on the field, looking extremely fierce. (2200/1200)

Sidney stared in disbelief, "Hold on, you've got to be cheating, that's a six star monster! How did you summon it without sacrificing anything?"

Makoto smiled, "Thanks to my Megacyber's effect, if you have two or more monsters than I do on the field, I can summon him without offering any tributes. And come next turn, he'll help me kick your butt into outer space! So now, I end my turn, and your swords are finally gone." Just as she said this, the barrier created by the glowing swords seemed to evaporate, and the card vanished from Sidney's side of the field.

Sidney growled and drew his next card, but soon his frustrated look changed into a smirk, 'She might have the strongest monsters on the field right now, but I've got just what I need to even the odds into my favor,' he chuckled, looking to one of his face-downs. "I place one card face down, then I flip summon my face down monster, Alien Grey, into defense mode!" The card flipped over, and a strange alien creature with a big head and glowing red eyes appeared on the field, hovering with its legs crossed and large hands in front of itself. (300/800) Sidney grinned, "Thanks to my Alien Grey's special ability, I get to place one A-Counter on a face-up monster on your side of the field, and I choose your Goblin Attack Force!" The alien's eyes glowed brighter for a moment, and Makoto soon watched as her Goblins were struck by something from seemingly nowhere. When they straightened up, a red glowing mass had latched onto the center one's chest, pulsating and glowing in a rather ominous manner. Grinning widely, Sidney soon continued, "Now, I activate one of my trap cards, Crop Circles!" As he said this, the trap rose up, revealing the image of a field somewhere with a large crop circle done in the style of the Eye of Ra. "Thanks to this, by sending any number of monsters from my side of the field to the graveyard, I can select one "Alien" monster from my deck equal to the total levels of the monsters sent to the graveyard and special summon it to the field, so now I say good bye to my Alien Grey and my Alien Skull." The two monsters vanished in an instant, and Sidney withdrew his deck and began scanning through it, then grinned with delight as he plucked one card from it. "Just like in the science fiction movies, where there are aliens, there must be a queen, so now I can introduce to you the queen in my deck, Alien Mother, in attack mode!" In a flash, the roar of a creature not of this world was heard all around, and a white and purple skinned creature with sharp fangs and claws appeared on the field, looking extremely pissed off to say nothing else of how it looked. (2300/1500)

Makoto looked like she was about to be sick, getting a good look at the creature, "Geez, those things just keep getting uglier and uglier." She shook her head, then smirked, "But the bigger and uglier their are, the harder they fall. Reveal trap card!" Makoto's one face down card rose up on the field, revealing the image of a green monster plummeting down a demon-filled hole to its doom.

"Blast! Not Bottomless Trap Hole!" Sidney exclaimed.

"I'm afraid so," Makoto smirked, "Thanks to my Bottomless Trap Hole, whenever you normal summon, flip summon, or special summon a monster with an attack of 1500 points or higher, it destroys it and removes the monster from play. So your Alien Mother is out of here!"

Sidney growled as the ground below his alien monster opened up, sucking it down into the depths and destroying it. "I end my turn for now, but you haven't seen anything yet!" He protested, but turned things over to her for the time being.

Smiling some, Makoto drew her next card, 'Still not quite what I'm waiting for, but not bad for now.' "I summon Command Knight in defense mode!" Placing the card down on her disk, a female warrior in red and gold body armor with a black cape falling behind her appeared on the field in a low crouch. (1200/1900) "My knight has a few special abilities I should probably name off," she said with an air of confidence, "First, as long as there is at least one other monster on my side of the field, she cannot be targeted by one of your attacks, and secondly, as long as she remains face-up on the field, the attack of all my warriors goes up by 400 points." As she finished saying this, her Command Knight, Goblin Attack Force, and her Fiend Megacyber seemed to become even more invigorated. (2200/1200 - 2600/1200) (2300/0 - 2700/0) (1200/1900 - 1600/1900) "Now then, Goblin Attack Force, attack Sidney's life points directly!"

"Not so fast!" He said, "Now I get to use a trap card! Negate Attack!" Flipping the card face up on the field, the Goblin Attack Force's attack bounced off a seemingly invisible shield, stopping them all together, much to Sidney's delight. "Thanks to my trap, I get to negate your monster's attack, and end your battle phase. Better luck next time kid."

Makoto frowned, "Not much more I can do right now, so I end my turn." 'This guy is incredibly tricky. I'm going to need something good soon, or things might take a serious turn for the worst,' she thought.

"My move!" Sidney shouted, drawing a new card with a smirk, "I place one spell or trap card face down, but that's not important right now, because for now that A-Counter on your fiend's chest is going to finally serve a purpose! Reveal trap card! Brainwashing Beam!" Flipping up upon command, his trap revealed itself on the field, showing the image of an Alien Grey with its eyes glowing bright red. "Something else common in stories of aliens and alien abductions, the use of brainwashing and mind control to turn their victims and enemies against one another, and this card is a prime example of that practice! I get to select one monster with at least one A-Counter from your side of the field and take complete control over it. However, since only one of your monsters has one of my lovely counters on it, it should be quite obvious who I'm going to choose: your Goblin Attack Force!"

As Sidney said this, the A-Counter on her monsters began to pulsate more, causing the trio of warriors to give a low groan before their golden eyes turned red. In a matter of moments, the possessed goblins began to walk almost lifelessly towards Sidney's half of the field, turning around and facing their mistress against their will. Sadly for Makoto though, the crackpot duelist was far from done, "Now, I could be cruel and attack with your own monster, but I've got a better idea in mind. Because now that I have a monster that belongs to you, I can summon the most powerful alien in my deck without using two tributes! So now, I sacrifice your Goblin Attack Force in order to summon the greatest of all my aliens! Come forth, Cosmic Horror Gangi'el!"

Makoto watched on in horror as Sidney sacrificed her own monster, and in its place came forth a creature that could only be described by it's name, a true horror of the cosmos if she'd ever seen one. Long, almost tentacle-like limbs freely floated around it, and it gave off a shriek that sent chills down the spines of every spectator around them. (2600/2000) "With my strongest monster in play, there's no way you can possibly stop me from winning now! Cosmic Horror Gangi'el, attack her Fiend Megacyber with Cosmic Nightmare!" The eyes of the sinister looking reptile glowed brightly, and a powerful burst of telekinetic energy was emitted from its head, rocking the lone warrior to her core before she shattered into nothingness, leaving Makoto's field nearly bear except for Command Knight, while Makoto was left stunned at the defeat of her warrior. (LP: 5700 - 300: 5400)

"Their attacks were the same, how come your monster wasn't destroyed too?" Makoto demanded, wondering what on Earth just happened.

Sidney grinned wickedly, "You really don't know the power of Alien monsters, do you my dear? Any time an Alien monster battles a monster with an A-Counter on them, that monster loses 300 attack points during the damage step, making my Gangi'el more powerful than your Megacyber. Face it girl, you can't possibly defeat my alien invasion deck, and soon, I'll be on my way to the top of the Battle City II tournament!"

Seeing how high the odds were stacked against her, Makoto gulped, not sure what could help her now. Looking down at her hand and her deck though, the amazon duelist shook her head, feeling determination building up inside of her. 'No, you can do this Makoto. You've faced armies of youmas and monsters of all shapes and sizes, not to mention some REAL aliens, you're not going to get punked out by some lunatic using a deck full of them,' she thought to herself, then reached down to grab her next card, 'Spirit of Jupiter, please, show me there is still hope.' Picking up the card, she turned it over and looked at it, then her eyes grew large, 'Yes! Thank you!' Looking up at Sidney, Makoto smirked, "I once heard a story about a great warrior. A man so strong, entire armies fell by his sword, but because he was so strong, he had to find a way to hold back his power, so he created a suit of armor to restrain himself. Here and now, I'll introduce you to that warrior, because now I play Gearfried the Iron Knight, in attack mode!" Placing the card on her duel disk, a large warrior in black and silver armor appeared on the field, and instantly yelled as he gained an attack boost due to Command Knight's effect. (1800/1600 - 2200/1600)

Sidney smirked, "You must be desperate girl, your knight in shining armor might've gotten a little power boost, but he's still no match for my Gangi'el!"

Makoto smirked, "Maybe not yet, but soon he will be, because now, I'm freeing him from the armor which has held him back for so many years. I play the spell card, Release Restraint, to tribute my Gearfried the Iron Knight for his true form, Gearfried the Swordmaster!" As Makoto played the spell card, Gearfried braced himself as beams of light started to shoot out from all the seams in his armor, and in a brilliant display of power, the armor exploded off of his body, revealing the true form of the warrior beneath it. A tall, muscular man with long brown hair and very little clothing, wielding a long blade of light, with a fierce piercing gaze in his eyes, staring down both Sidney and his monster. (2600/2200 - 3000/2200) "However, I'm not done. I now play two equip spells card, Fusion Sword Musasame Blade and Lightning Blade, and give them to my Gearfried to increase his attack by 800 points, giving him a grand total of 4600 attack points!" The sword in Gearfried's hands transformed into a larger blade, seeming to radiate a powerful aura around it, but then changed again, this time becoming a massive broadsword, electrified with the power of lightning. (3000/2200 - 4600/2200)

Sidney's eyes nearly popped out of his head, unable to believe what he was seeing, "Dear god! That thing's now even stronger than the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Makoto grinned, "You better believe it! But I'm not going to attack yet, because now, Gearfried's effect kicks in. When he's equipped with an equip card, one monster on your side of the field gets destroyed, and since there's only one monster on your field, I choose your Gangi'el!"

Sidney could only look on in horror as the massive warrior charged forward, giving a battle cry as he swung his powerful blade, and sliced clean through his alien monster, making it shriek in agony before being blown to bits. "No! My Gangi'el! My most powerful alien!" He cried in disbelief as it was sent to the graveyard by the mighty Gearfried.

Makoto smiled, "You think you're upset now? My Gearfried only used his effect, he still gets to attack you as well! But before I do that, I'm switching my Command Knight back to attack mode!" She said, and her other warrior stood back up, drawing it's sword from its sheath. "And now, it's time to finish this duel! Command Knight, Gearfried the Swordmaster, attack him directly!" Both warriors nodded to one another, then charged forward before striking Sidney with both of their blades, knocking the alien obsessed duelist clean off his feet as his life points were taken out in one fell swoop. (LP: 6000 - 6200: 0)

Getting up to his knees, Sidney sighed and looked at the ground, "I can't believe it, my alien deck lost. Now I'll never be able to spread my message to the masses." A shadow was cast over him, and Sidney lifted his head up, only to blink when Makoto was offering her hand to him with a smile.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, you dueled incredibly well, and if I hadn't drawn the right card, you probably would've beaten me." Makoto said, helping him up to his feet. "Plus, and no offense, but even if you had gone all the way to the top, do you really think anyone would believe a story like that?"

Sidney's face reddened some, and he pulled his glasses off, "Well, now that you mention it... I guess the idea was a little far-fetched." Giving a sigh, he smiled some and shook her hand, "You were right, it was an excellent duel, and it was an honor to lose to such a talented young lady." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out what appeared to be a locator card and handed it to her. "Here, as per the rules, you earned this. Also, here." Sifting through his graveyard, he plucked out two of his cards and gave them to her, "Also per the rules, you get my rarest card, but I think you might need this one too."

Looking down at the cards he gave her, Makoto blinked, "Brain Control and your Cosmic Horror Gangi'el?"

Sidney nodded, "They make a nice combo, since you only need one tribute for Gangi'el if you use an opponent's monster, and Brain Control is perfect for that."

Now it was Makoto's turn to blush, "You didn't have to do this, it was obviously your favorite monster."

Sidney smiled and shook his head, "No, it's fine, I keep an extra one in my side deck anyways. I figure I can still be feared with only one of them." Taking her hand, he bent down and kissed the top of it, then stepped back, "It was a pleasure to duel with you miss, and I wish you nothing but good luck in the rest of the tournament."

Makoto blushed even more, smiling to him, "It's Makoto, Makoto Kino, and thank you Sidney, I'll certainly give it my best."

Sidney grinned, "I'll be rooting for you then, Makoto. Now, I must go, I still have a mission to complete." Pointing his finger to the sky, the goofy duelist smirked confidently, "Whether they believe it or not, I must spread the word to the people! Aliens are here, and one day, they will show themselves to us all!" Turning around, he took off running, laughing with glee as he left Makoto standing there by herself. Shaking her head and laughing a bit, she smiled, 'If you only knew my friend, if you only knew.'

-o-o-o-

The tournament has finally begin, and the first duel has been won. Makoto now has two locator cards, and is building some momentum as the first day progresses, but what about the other girls? Who will be the next one to challenge or be challenged? Find out the answers to these questions, plus a whole lot more in the next exciting chapter of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters!" See you next time!

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.

JayManney4Life


	9. Chapter 9

Gods… I can't believe it's taken me this long to come up with a new chapter.

Well, anyone who has been checking my profile here on knows that back around March, my computer died on me, and since that point I've had a lot of stuff happen, including a HUGE case of writer's block. But now, I've finally returned, and unlike my past works, I'm not going to let this one die out so easily, so here we go, once more into the abyss!

But first, as always… Review Time!

Clint H. Hoyt/King Cobra Clint - Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! Sadly though, no Minako vs. Jounouchi this time around, I'm trying not to have the senshi face Yugi and the gang just yet, I'm hoping to put that off until the finals if possible… but then again, who knows? You'll just have to wait and find out. :D

Hell-Kitten - Oi, don't even talk to me about college work. As someone who has been in and out of college three times, I can definitely say how much of a pain in the butt it is. -grin- Anyways, sorry it's taken me this long to get a new chapter out, hopefully it was well worth the wait.

princess moon shadow - Thanks :D

Sora4801 - I'm still not sure about the GX idea. I might do it, I might not, who knows. It' definitely be different, and the idea of Chibi-Usa and Hotaru going off to bug Jaden and the gang is definitely enticing.

At any rate, I'm just happy you enjoyed the last chapter, and once again, big apologies for not getting anything out sooner than now. Oh, don't worry, Usagi is going to meet up with Kaiba at some point or another, but still not sure when that's going to occur either. Despite the path this story seems to be taking, I'm still practically playing this by ear nine times out of ten. :P

Ten-Faced Paladin - Yes, our resident Amazon isn't that bad with a deck of cards, is she? Well, if they can handle being sucked into alternate dimensions and riding what remains of a comet back down from orbit, a trip into the shadows should be a cake walk… or so you'd think. :P

LunarStar Princess Krystal - Yeah, I worked hard to make the duel enjoyable, and I admit, the Goblins were one of my favorite parts to write, next to writing for Sidney. D Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a bit longer for her to make her presence known in the tournament. ;

Chibes - At least she didn't say he looked like one of her old boyfriends. XD

Well, considering we have Beryl and Jadeite running around with Bakura as their demented tour guide, it's only a matter of time before we see the girls transform, and knowing how these sorts of things go, I wouldn't doubt for a minute that Yugi and the gang end up in the middle of all of it, and that includes Kaiba as well. :P

Heh, Ryou and Jounouchi fighting over Sailor V or Sailor Moon? Hmm… that's an interesting angle, I'll keep that in mind, might try to see how that'd play out.

Kayla Tsukino - Heh, I wouldn't say jinxed, per say, but my computer certainly picked a lousy time to crap out on me, that's for sure. Ah well, at least I'm back now, and the story is back in full swing. And yeah, having Makoto duel first was sort of my idea of a curve ball if you will, that and I couldn't figure out who should go first, since I didn't want to be cliché and have Usagi dueling first, but at any rate, I'm glad you approved of it, and yeah, I did think your name was interesting. :P

Taeniaea - Heh, glad you liked it. Sorry it took me so long to update, hope it was worth the wait.

Once again, I apologize for taking such a long time to continue this story, and here's hoping this chapter was worth the wait.

-o-o-o-

Walking out onto the stage, Mai Kujaku smiled and looked at the camera. "Hey everyone, Mai here. Jay just wanted me to come out and do the disclaimer, since he's been too busy job hunting and frantically trying to force himself to write a new chapter these past few months." She chuckled, then continued. "Anyways, Jay does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sailor Moon, or any of the characters or other items related to either series' universes. He's just a poor guy who has a few anime DVDs and a very active, if not warped imagination, so cut him some slack and read the story, okay?" She winked at the camera and made a pose as Jay popped up beside her, with both of them smiling at it before giving the V for Victory sign, "Now on with the show!"

-o-o-o-

At Kaiba Corp. Headquarters, the lobby had been changed around to accommodate for the registration of duelists for the new tournament, and lines had been forming all week for it. Even as the tournament had already begun, people from around the globe were still filing in to get in on last minute registration.

"Hello, and welcome to Battle City II's registration desk," a polite young woman in a Kaiba Corp. uniform said behind one of the many computer stations, "How many are among your party?"

"Three," one of the individuals said, a woman with red hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a dark purple blouse and black pants, with a black and violet duel disk on her arm. Behind her were two others, a young man with short blond hair in a red shirt in a black jacket and faded blue jeans, with a black and red duel disk, and the other was a familiar face, namely that of Ryo Bakura. The duelist with the power of the Millennium Ring smirked as he and his two new associates went through the registration process, knowing it to be necessary if they intended to get anywhere with this plan of theirs.

After a few more minutes, the girl behind the counter smiled, "Alright, you're all set. Ryo Bakura, Beverly Queens, and Isaac Jade have now been registered for the Battle City II tournament. Good luck to you all, and have a nice day!" She said in a chipper voice, and the three duelists set out on their way.

'God, it's about time. Any longer and I'd have had to blast all of those miserable peons,' Isaac Jade, or Jadeite rather, thought. 'Tell me again why we had to go through that mind-numbingly dull process?'

'Because Jadeite,' Beverly Queens thought in response, or rather, Queen Beryl thought, 'we had to register our aliases in the tournament's database to be able to take part in this little game.'

'But why?' Jadeite thought, 'Why not just find that Yugi kid and take what we want from him?'

A chuckle turned both of their attentions back towards the mastermind of their entire plan, namely Bakura himself. 'For someone who is supposed to be a general my friend, you know nothing of strategy. As I stated before, we cannot simply steal the Millennium Items, they have to be won for us to be able to use their powers.'

'Also Jadeite, the more duels we participate in, the more energy we can take from these pathetic humans. If we happen to run into the Sailor Senshi, we're going to need all the energy we can get to stand a chance of defeating them once and for all.' Queen Beryl thought, one of the few things the three duelists could agree on. "Now then boys, let us depart from here, there's a tournament to be won." She laughed sinisterly, and the three dark duelists disappeared into the crowd.

-o-o-o-

As the morning progressed, many more duels took place all across the city's landscape as the tournament moved into full swing. From alleyways to open streets, even rooftops and the floors of shopping malls became makeshift battlefields in this city wide event, matched only in number by its predecessor.

Even with all that was going on around her, Ami Mizuno was still doing what she seemed to do best: study. Granted, she had entered the tournament with the rest of her friends, but that didn't stop her from continuing to expand her mind in the process, and currently had her nose deep inside of a copy of 'Duel Monsters Rules, Regulations, and Final Rulings', helping to update herself on all the latest updates and intricacies of the game, all the while carrying her duel disk on her arm as well.

"…Toon Monsters are a special breed of Monsters. They are effective at attacking the enemy for massive damage. There are three classes of Toon monsters: Class A, Class, B, and Class C. Class A types require Toon World to be on the field to be summoned. If Toon World is destroyed it is also destroyed..." Ami read slightly aloud, avoiding walking into people with great ease without ever lifting her eyes from the pages of her book. 'I must admit, I never expected the inner workings of a collectible card game to be so fascinating,' she thought, turning another page, 'Duel Monsters has so many formulas and combinations for all it's various monster types, traps, and spells, it almost makes Advanced Calculus look like child's place by comparison.' She giggled softly, finding this all quite amusing.

Unbeknownst to the blue haired senshi as she continued her blind trek through the city, a lone figure was watching her every move, following in secret as Ami walked calmly through the busy streets.

"That's her alright, even now she's got that pretty little nose of hers buried in a textbook," the stranger said with a hint of bitterness in their voice, eyes narrowing while continuing to watch from a distance. "Well no matter. I'll soon have my revenge on you, Ami Mizuno, and when I do, everyone will finally see you for what you really are."

-o-o-o-

A short time later, Ami had managed to navigate herself all the way to the city park. As was to be expected, there were a few duels going on all over the place, with plenty of spectators watching as well. Finding an empty bench near a large pond, Ami sat down for a moment, putting a bookmark in her book to save her place as she glanced at her watch. Nearly forty-five minutes had gone by, and she still hadn't participated in a duel.

"Oh my, I hadn't realized time had gone by so quickly," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I really shouldn't let myself get so distracted, I'm starting to feel like Usagi." Slipping her book into the small backpack she was carrying, Ami took a deep breath, then sighed. "Well then, I suppose I should start looking for someone to challenge if I expect to advance in the tournament."

"Don't bother," came a voice from seemingly nowhere, "Your run in the tournament ends here, Ami Mizuno!"

Looking around for the source of the voice, Ami found herself staring straight ahead as a figure stepped out from behind some tall bushes, revealing … a girl. With long black hair that fans out like wings on both sides of her hair, and bright green eyes, she stood there in what looked like a more punkish version of the typical Japanese schoolgirl uniform. Pointing a finger out at her, the girl glared at her with a deep level of hatred in her eyes, speaking up once more, "That's right Mizuno, I'm going to be the one who defeats you, and finally knocks you off that huge pedestal of yours!"

Ami blinked, looking quite confused, to say the least of how she felt. "Um, okay… I'm sorry Miss, but… do I know you?"

Almost on cue, the strange girl fell over in a comical fashion, earning a rather large sweat drop from the blue haired duelist. "What do you mean, 'Do you know me?'?" She yelled, getting back up almost as quickly as she fell over. Shaking her head in annoyance, the girl grumbled, "That's just typical of someone who's as big of a jerk as you are!"

Now Ami felt especially confused, and a tad insulted for that matter, and at that moment she didn't have any problem with expressing those feelings. "Now that is just plain rude," Ami stated, standing up and staring back at the mysterious girl. "I was just sitting on this bench here in the park, minding my own business while taking a break from looking for an opponent to duel against, and you, someone whom I have never even met before in my life if I am not mistaken, just decides to pop up out of nowhere, surprises me, and then has the audacity to call me a jerk. Now then, if you DO have some reason to feel cross towards me, I would at least like to have the privilege of knowing who you are, and why exactly you have decided to seek me out like this, if it would not be too much of an inconvenience."

Crossing her arms, the mystery girl crossed her arms and closed her eyes, turning her head away, "Hmph... I suppose even criminals should know why they're being charged." Turning around and leaving her back to Ami, she began to speak, "My name is Giya Furui, one of the top students in all of Japan, but I'm getting ahead of myself there, so I'll start from the beginning..."

Flashback

At one of the many junior high schools around Tokyo, various students and teachers wander in and out of classes, off to whatever classes they had or other activities across the campus. In one of the few empty classrooms, a young Gina sat at her desk, pouring over her text books and writing down notes in an open note book.

("Much like yourself, Mizuno, I too was an extremely passionate student, working hard to excel to the top of my class," Giya said as the story unfolded.)

The scene soon changed, another day of class had begun, and inside of a full classroom the teacher was writing out an extensive formula out on the blackboard. Calling out to the class, the teacher asked if anyone could tell him the answer to the formula, and without hesitation, Gina's hand shot up, standing up and giving the correct answer, earning praise from her teacher and from her fellow students as well.

("Always first to answer in class, I spent long hours pouring over books both inside and outside of the school year, wanting nothing more than to be the very best and have the top grades. I was loved by my peers, and the favorite of all my teachers, I've even won several academic awards all throughout my academic career since childhood," She said, an air of pride in her voice, "But then, the high school entrance exams came, and when the test results came in, my life would change forever at that point...")

Everyone had gathered outside of class that day, looking at the two bulletin boards in the main hallway on campus. All of the test results for students in the entire area had been posted, and Giya pushed through the rest of her classmates, hoping to see if she'd made it to the top once more. When she'd finally managed to work her way to the front of the line, her eyes scanned the long list of students and scores posted, holding her own student I.D. number in her hands. However, when she did find it, she was shocked to discover something was amiss. Yes, she had placed at the top of her classes, but instead of being in the number one spot, Giya's test results had her ranked at number two in the whole area.

Just under one other person: Ami Mizuno.

End Flashback

Ami stood there in a stunned silence, processing all of this information as it filled her head, blinking once or twice before finally shaking her head, looking back at Giya and feeling almost as confused as when it first started. "So, wait," Ami said, still letting the whole thing rattle around in her head, "… you have come all this way to confront me… simply because I placed higher than you did on the high school entrance exams?"

"Not just higher than me, you got a perfect score! A PERFECT SCORE!" Giya yelled, practically fuming by that point. "I'd been working hard for those exams practically since the start of my junior high education, and even with all my cramming, all my extra efforts, I passed at a mere 97 percent! Ninety-seven percent!" Pointing her finger at Ami, the black-haired girl continued, "I don't know how you did it, but all I know is you, Ami Mizuno, must have cheated somehow to pull that off, and I'm going to expose you for the big phony you really are!"

Ami felt like she'd just been slapped in the face: Never before in her entire life had anyone accused her of cheating on a test, let alone the high school entrance exams. "I am sorry to disappoint you, Miss Furui, but you are quite mistaken. I have not now, nor ever cheated on any assignment, test, or other academic project before in my life, and I will not stand idly by and allow you, or anyone else for that matter, to claim otherwise!"

Giya scoffed at this, even laughed at it. "That's just what I'd expect a cheat like you to say," she said, "but you know what? Talk is cheap, anyone can claim their innocence, but actions speak much louder if you ask me." Holding up her left arm, she pulled a deck of cards from a pouch she kept on her belt, inserting it into the deck slot on her duel disk and activating it. "I'll make a deal with you Mizuno: If you can beat me in a duel, I'll let this whole business of me calling you a cheat drop, but if I win, you have to admit to the whole world the truth, that you're nothing but a big fat fraud!"

Narrowing her eyes in a determined fashion, Ami withdrew her own deck and inserted it into her duel disk as well, "Fine then, if this will somehow convince you to drop these wild accusations of yours, then I accept."

Giya grinned, "Good, then prepare to loose, Mizuno, not only your place in this tournament, but your academic reputation as well!"

"DUEL!" Both girls shouted, drawing their cards as they faced each other on opposite sides of the playground.

-

Ami: 8000

Giya: 8000

-

"Seeing how I'm the one with the guilty verdict on the line, I will go first," Ami said drawing her five cards. Carefully looking over her opening hand, Ami drew her sixth card as she considered what to do for her first move. 'Hmm… yes, this will suffice for now,' she thought to herself, then proceeded to make her opening move. "I will start my turn off by playing a spell card called Graceful Charity, which allows me to draw three cards from my deck as long as I discard two afterward," she declared, playing the spell card and drawing three more cards, then after a moment's pondering, she discarded two more from her hand. "For my next move, I will play another spell card, Future Fusion!" Inserting the card into an open slot on her duel disk, the image of the skyline above several skyscrapers appeared, a bright light dazzling high above them. "Thanks to this continuous spell card, I'm allowed to send from my deck straight to my graveyard Fusion Material Monsters which are listed on a Fusion Monster Card, and in my second Standby Phase from now, I can Special Summon that specific Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck." Removing her deck from it's slot inside of her duel disk, Ami leafed through it before plucking out the three cards, sending all three of them to the graveyard before replacing her deck in it's slot. "Finally, I will place one spell or trap card face down, then summon a monster face down in defense mode, and that will all for now." Placing the two cards into the open space and slot in her duel disk, they soon appeared on the field as well, before smiling politely towards her opponent. "Your turn, Giya."

"About time!" Giya said in annoyance, drawing her next card before making her first move. "I'll place two spell or trap cards face down, then summon my Red Gadget in attack mode!" As she said this, two cards appeared face down on the field, and in a flash a funny looking red robot with a huge metal gear sticking out of it's back appeared on the field. (1300/1500) "Thanks to my Red Gadget's effect after I summon him, I can add one Yellow Gadget from my deck to my hand." Pulling out her deck, Giya quickly thumbed through it before finding the card she was looking for, then added it to her hand before pointing towards Ami's end of the field. "Now Red Gadget, attack and destroy her face-down monster!" With its eyes flashing, the red robot charged forward with a punch, looking to take down whatever monster Ami had waiting for it.

"Reveal trap card! Mirror Force!" Ami called out as she extended her arm, and her face down card rose up on the field, creating a barrier around her side of the field, causing Red Gadget to plow into it, destroying it instantly. "Thanks to my Mirror Force trap card, the moment you declared an attack, I was able to destroy all monsters on your side of the field that were in attack mode, thus allowing me to save my face down monster and get rid of your gadget as well," she said matter-of-factly, a bit of confidence shining in her eyes as she managed to dodge the bullet for the time being.

Giya pouted as her monster was blown away by Ami's trap, a look of building annoyance forming on her childish face, "Hmph, fine. I end my turn, but just you wait, this duel is far from being over, and when I win, I'll prove you for the fraud you really you."

Ami sighed, "I keep telling you Giya, I'm not a cheat. I simply study hard and do my best. If you really want to do better, I could always help you with some tutoring like I do with my other friends."

"Shut up!" Giya yelled, "I don't need any help from a faker like you! Just shut up and draw!"

Blushing a little at the girl's outburst, Ami sighed and drew her card, "I play the spell card, Card Destruction, and now we both discard our entire hands, and then draw the same number of cards from our respective decks." Discarding her hand to the graveyard, Ami then drew three new cards, and Giya followed suit, drawing four of her own. "Next, I play another spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon, allowing me to destroy one spell or trap card on the field," she said as she scanned Gina's side of the field, trying to pick between the two face down cards she had, before finally making a decision, "and I choose… the one on your right!"

Once more, Giya felt her frustrations growing as a vortex opened up above them on the field, causing the winds around them to pick up and forcing her face down card to reveal itself as Sakuretsu Armor, before exploding in a burst of pixels.

With one less potential trap to deal with, Ami then continued, "Next, I summon Reflect Bounder to the field in attack mode!" In a flash, a bronze colored machine with large metallic wings and a circular blue base with a large mirror embedded in its center and several smaller ones surrounding it as well appeared, hovering in place on Ami's side of the field. (1700/1000) "And since there is nothing to keep me from targeting you, I'll now have Reflect Bounder attack your life points directly!" Directing all of its energy into it's central mirror, Reflect Bounder unleashed a powerful burst of blinding light from it's chest, striking Giya full on even as she tried to shield her eyes from the brightness of the attack. (LP: 8000 - 1700: 6300)

Pleased with the outcome of her attack, Ami spoke up once more, "Now then, seeing as how I have no other cards to play for the moment, I'll now end my turn. Your move, Giya."

After she recovered from the direct assault, Giya drew her next card, thoughts of vengeance hot on her mind. "You're going to pay for that, Mizuno!" Looking at her hand for a moment, she then placed one of her cards into an open slot on her duel disk, "First, I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice, which lets me select five monsters from my graveyard and add them to my deck before shuffling it, then I get to draw two more cards." In a flash, an ugly looking bejeweled pot appeared on the field, laughing eerily before bursting into pieces. Giya then looked through her graveyard before picking out five cards, then added them to her deck and shuffling it, and then she drew two more cards and added them to her hand. "Next, I'll activate another spell card, Ancient Gear Castle!" As she did this, a low rumbling overtook the area around the two duelists, and before long, a massive and heavily-armed stone fortress emerged from the ground behind Giya, standing several at least three or four stories tall, and casting a rather large shadow across the field, earning a few stares and gasps from different people as they walked through the park.

Holding her hand over her eyes, Ami gazed up at the enormous stone structure. "Oh my, that's certainly an impressive looking castle," she said in amazement.

Giya grinned cockily, "You don't know the half of it! Thanks to my Ancient Gear Castle, all face-up monsters on the field with 'Ancient Gear' in their name automatically gain 300 attack points, and every time a monster is normal summoned or set, I get to add a counter to it," she said. "Now I'll play another spell card, Enemy Controller!" In a flash, what appeared to be a giant video game controller appeared on the field beside the pointy-haired duelist, "When I play this spell card, I get to use one of two of it's effects, and I choose to use the second one!" Plucking another one of her cards from her hand, she then discarded it to her graveyard, "By sending one monster to the graveyard, I'm allowed to take control of any monster on your side of the field until the end of this turn, and I choose that Reflect Bounder of yours!" After saying this, a sequence of buttons were triggered on the over-sized game controller, and moments later Ami's monster was transferred to Giya's side of the field, bringing a cocky smile to her face. "However, I don't think I'm going to keep him that long. Instead, I'm sacrificing your monster in order to bring out one of my own. So say goodbye to Reflect Bounder, and hello to Ancient Gear Engineer!"

Ami watched as her monster vanished in a flash of light, and was quickly replaced by an armored mechanical soldier with large gears sticking out of several places, and wielding what looked like a long drill bit for a lance on the end of it's right arm. (1500/1500)

Grinning like a kid with a brand new toy, Giya spoke up once again, "Not bad, huh? It gets better though, because thanks to my Ancient Gear Castle, my Engineer gains 300 more attack points, raising him up to 1800 attack points!" Even as she said this, the mechanical soldier glowed briefly, energized by the boost it got from the massive castle behind it and it's mistress. (1500/1500 - 1800/1500) "I'm not quite done yet though, because now I can activate my face down trap, Roll Out!" Holding her hand out to it, Giya's face-down card lifted up, revealing a trap card with the image of a robotic monster and another machine docking together. "Thanks to this card, I can select one Union Monster from my graveyard and equip it to any appropriate monster on my side of the field, so now I bring back my Heavy Mech Support Platform from the graveyard and equip it to my Ancient Gear Engineer!" A beam of light erupted from Giya's graveyard, and in a flash, a jet-like machine came flying out of nowhere as Ancient Gear Engineer leaped into the air as well. Both Ami and Giya watched the sky above them as the jet transformed, it's rear end converting into what looked like a set of robotic legs, and it's front half extended forward like a large clamp, latching onto the back of Giya's Ancient Gear Engineer before they both landed back down on the black-haired duelist's side of the field. "Now that Heavy Mech Support Platform is equipped to my Ancient Gear Engineer, my Engineer gains an additional 500 attack points, bringing it up to a whopping 2300 attack points all together!" (1800/1500 - 2300/1500) "Now then, Ancient Gear Engineer, attack and destroy that faker's face-down monster! Mechanized Drill Lance!" Rearing back on it's back legs, the now centaur-like metal soldier galloped forward, charging towards Ami's side of the field and driving it's drill straight through her face-down card, causing it to flip up briefly, and a women in a blue robe with a golden staff shrieked out before being destroyed just as quickly.

"You destroyed my Magician of Faith, and thanks to her special ability, I get to remove a spell card from my graveyard and add it to my hand," Ami said, seeming more determined than phased by the attack. Quickly searching through the cards in her graveyard, she then picked one out from them and added it to her hand, then returned the rest of them back to the graveyard.

"Big deal, so you got to bring back one lousy spell card, it'll take much more than that to beat my Ancient Gear deck, and I haven't even played my best cards yet!" Giya said, feeling extremely confident at the moment, "I end my turn, and if I were you, I'd pack it in right now and admit defeat, maybe spare yourself SOME dignity before I expose you for the big fat faker that you really are."

Ami frowned as control switched over to her, drawing her next card. "I do not know what it will take to convince you that I did not cheat in any way Giya, but I would not go claiming victory just yet. If you are half the student you claim to be, then you should know from your history lessons that overconfidence has brought even the greatest of leaders crashing down in defeat." As she said this, the blue haired duelist's frown was slowly turning into a smile, then she continued, "Besides, one card CAN make all the difference, or have you forgotten about my Future Fusion I played two turns back?"

Suddenly the confident look on Giya's face became one of great distress, her eyes darting to the spell which was still in play on Ami's side of the field. 'Crap, I DID forget about that,' she thought, cursing inwardly as Ami's smile grew into a large grin.

"And seeing how it HAS been two turns, I can now finally summon the Fusion Monster I chose earlier. For I sent my three Cyber Dragons to the graveyard, and the monster I chose to summon was none other than my Cyber End Dragon!" she said with a bit of glee in her voice. In a flash, three large metallic serpent-like dragons appeared on the field, only to be sucked into the vortex above Ami's side of the field, and in a flash, a newer, much larger shining metal dragon with three near identical heads appeared, giving an echoing triple roar. (4000/2800)

Now Giya was really freaking out, having not been expecting Ami to summon such a powerful monster. "Cyber End Dragon? You have a Cyber End Dragon?" she shrieked, her confidence suddenly dwindling.

Ami nodded her head, "I admit it IS a fairly rare card, but not impossible to find when one searches hard enough."

Giya stood there in shock, unable to believe this sudden change in the duel, "No, this duel isn't over, I can still find a way to win, even WITH your Cyber End Dragon on the field!"

"I am afraid that you are wrong Giya," Ami said, looking almost sad even as she said this, "for after I play the last two cards in my hand, then this duel will indeed be over."

"You're bluffing!" Giya shouted.

Ami simply shook her head, then turned her hand to reveal the two cards in question: two copies of Limiter Removal, ready for use.

Giya gasped, feeling a bit of herself shattering on the inside, "No way! You must've cheated somehow! This isn't happening!"

"Sorry Giya, but this duel ends now," Ami said, "I play both of my Limiter Removal spell cards, which double the attack of all face up machine monsters on my side of the field, and since there are two of them in play now, the attack points of my monsters are actually quadrupled, which means my Cyber End Dragon's attack points are multiplied by four, giving it a grand total of 16000 attack points all together!" As Ami dropped this devastating bombshell on her stunned opponent, Cyber End Dragon reared all three of it's heads back and gave a deafening roar, becoming supercharged with the massive point boost granted to it. (4000 x 4/2800 - 16000/2800) "Cyber End Dragon," Ami called out, "Attack Giya's Ancient Gear Engineer, and end this duel! Super Strident Blaze!" Charging energy into all three heads, Cyber End Dragon then unleashed the full blunt of it's power, sending three earth-shattering burst streams spiraling towards their intended target, and Giya could only watch horror-stricken as the powerful attack hit it's mark, vaporizing everything in it's path and wiping out all of her remaining life points at the same time. (LP: 6300 - 13700: 0)

Once the smoke had cleared, and the holograms had deactivated, Ami glanced around through the mist as the park grounds returned to normal, soon spotting Giya a few yards in front of her. Either from exhaustion from battle or simply the disappointment she felt from losing to her long-time rival, Giya had collapsed to her knees, sulking and staring down at the ground, hanging her head in defeat.

Unsure of what to do, Ami cautiously approached her, then cleared her throat some before bowing respectfully. "You played an excellent game, Giya," Ami said, trying to relieve the tension of the moment, "I am only sad that it had to end so soon after it had just begun."

"I don't need your pity, Mizuno, you've beaten me once again, proving how superior you are," Giya said bitterly, and then proceeded to toss three cards at her feet. "There's your lousy locator card, and my rarest card. Just leave me alone."

Ami blushed deeply, feeling hurt at the fact that the girl still seemed to be holding a grudge against her for simply being herself, kneeling down some and looking at her softly. "Giya... it isn't pity I feel for you, but sadness." As Giya lifted her gaze up to meet Ami's, the water senshi continued, "Much like you, I have worked practically my entire life to be an excellent student. When I grow up, I want nothing more than to become a doctor like my mother, and to help take care of children and all sorts of different people, but just because I study hard and push myself doesn't make me any better than you, or anyone else for that matter." Taking Giya's hand with both of hers, Ami smiled gently towards her, "Giya, as far as I'm concerned, you and I are equals. I've said this to all of my other friends, and if you would allow me, I'd like to consider you among them as well."

Unable to say anything for a moment, a steady pinkness spread over the pointy-haired duelist's face, seemingly touched by the noble gesture on Ami's part. "... You... you'd really... call me... your friend? ... Even after... even after all those nasty things I said about you?"

Ami simply nodded her head and smiled, "My friends and I have run into many different people in our lives, and although we have had our difficulties with some in the past, we always tried to find the good in all of them, and you are no exception Giya, so the answer to your question is yes, I would be glad to call you my friend."

Pulling herself to her feet, Ami then offered Giya a hand up as well. Not sure really what to think at this point, the pointy-haired duelist sat there for a moment, before finally reaching out and taking the offered hand, the sad look on her face slowly being replaced with a smile. "… Thank you Mizuno… I mean, thank you, Ami."

-o-o-o-

A one-sided feud has been transformed into a friendly rivalry thanks to some kind words and a bit of understanding on the part of our resident water senshi, and now two of the girls have their second locator cards. However, the Dark Kingdom and Bakura are now involved in the tournament, disguised as regular duelists, so what does that mean for our heroes? The answers to these questions, and a whole lot more are coming still in the next exciting chapter of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters!" Be there!

FINALLY! Chapter Nine is COMPLETED! And at almost eight months to the day since I last updated. xX;;

Once again, I offer my deepest apologies for the insanely long delay, and thank you all for being incredibly patient with me along the way! Oh, and you need not worry, I'm already working on stuff for Chapter Ten as well, so hopefully you'll see that out before too long!

Please Read & Review! It does my heart good to know people actually appreciate the time and effort I put into this thing.  
JayManney4Life


	10. Chapter 10

God, it feels like a bloody eternity since I last updated this story, but for all of you who patiently waited, here it is at last, chapter ten of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters", my longest running and at this point, largest written story to date. I am far from finished with where I want this story to go, and I'm going to do everything I can in order to bring you more updates on a much, much, much more regular basis, at least when I'm not busy dealing with my job and chronic bouts of laziness. I hope everyone enjoys this latest installment, and please tell me your thoughts on it too with plenty of reviews, I just love knowing how everyone feels about what I put up here.

Sorry, rambling some, but seeing how I haven't really given you guys anything to look at for so long, besides that little short I did back in February, I just feel like I should say something about how happy I am that I haven't let this one die like so many fanfics I've worked on.

At any rate, this is now ten chapters in the bag, and here's to another ten after it or more!

And now, time for reviews once again!

LunarStar Princess Krystal - Thanks for the praise on my previous chapter, I'm afraid I've all but lost most of my original reviewers due to my long absence between chapters. x.X I was originally going to give Ami the ocean deck, but I thought this one would go more along with her expertise in computers and such, plus she doesn't get to go on the offensive too much during the series if you ask me, so she deserved a deck which could match up with her mental muscles. -grin-

Zipora Tsuki - Glad you're enjoying the story thus far, and don't worry, there's still plenty of quirkiness to be had still, and I've got a lot of good ideas ahead for the next couple of chapters, so stay tuned!

Ten-Faced Paladin - Yeah, sorry I've been MIA so much, but real life obligations and technical difficulties, along with just general laziness and lack of muse issues, have been kicking my butt for a while, but now I'm back again, and ready for the long haul, provided nothing else happens. -knocks on wood- And yes, I thought it'd be neat for Ami to use machine-types instead of going with the cliché of her just using water types, thought it might get everyone's attention a bit. As for who the next one is going to be.. well, you'll have to read on to find that one out. -grin-

DarkThorned Rose - ... That is the most epic idea I've heard in a long while... I LIKE IT! -huge grin-

The Avatar of Bahamut - Nice to see some of my regular reviewers are still around and kicking. Anywho, don't worry, Kaiba boy will be showing up in this chapter too. Maybe not in full force just yet, but yeah, he'll be here. -smile- And yes, SM/YGO crossovers DO rock!

This might sound like it's getting old with as much as I've said it already, but for those of you who keep coming back and checking for updates, thank you so very, very much for all of your patience.

Now, on with the story!

-o-o-o-

A spotlight cast itself over a tall marble doorway with immaculate carvings scattered all over the doors and framework. With a low groaning creak, the two doors parted a smoky mist filled the room, before a lone figure stepped forward through the open passageway. A woman with long dark green hair and ruby colored eyes clad in a black skirted sailor fuku with a red bow stood in place, holding a long key-shaped staff in one hand and smiling politely at the camera.

"Greetings. I am the Guardian of Time, Sailor Pluto. Upon request of the princess as a favor to the author of this story, I have been summoned forth in order to give the disclaimer for this particular chapter." She said, plucking a small card out from seemingly nowhere, glancing over it before clearing her throat. "The one calling himself JayManney4Life does not, has never, nor likely ever will own the rights to either Sailor Moon or Yu-Gi-Oh, nor any of their various spin-offs, prequels, films, manga, and or any other merchandise or licenses, etc etc." She pauses for a moment to take her breath, then continues reading onward, "Further more, he is merely a hard working young man who enjoys both anime and their various forms, and lacks the funds to deal with any lawsuits which might come about from the people and parties who actually do claim and hold ownership, so please refrain from attempting to sue him, he only makes minimum wage, and his life is difficult enough as is. Thank you in advance, The Management."

Giving a courteous nod, Sailor Pluto then bowed to the camera. A moment later, Jay walked out through the still misting doorway and stood beside her, then the two of them struck their signature poses before giving the V for Victory sign, "Now on with the show!"

-o-o-o-

As the day rolled on and two of the senshi had ready succeeded in their first bouts in the tournament, two familiar duelists walked the streets with each other as they looked over their spoils, having already scored two locater cards respectively in their own duels, bringing them both up to three each.

"Damn it! I can't believe all the work we had to go through just to get into Seto Kaiba's stupid tournament!" One of them said, a boy wearing a red cap over brown hair and purple bangs.

"Yeah! You'd think being two former world champions, we'd have like V.I.P. passes or something. That rich jerk didn't even invite us!" The other slightly shorter boy said, wearing a pair of yellow glasses under bowl-cut green hair.

"Man, I bet if he didn't have those stupid dragons of his, he'd be easy to take out. Heck, Yugi beat him, so he's not invincible!" The boy in the hat said, pounding his fist in his hand.

"Yeah, but that's Yugi, and you know what trouble we've had with him before, even without those God Cards of his," the boy with the green hair said, bringing both himself and his friend back down to reality.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that... damn rainbow headed freak," the boy in the hat said in frustration, "Just once I'd like to be able to take him down, then I'd be the King of Games instead of him!"

"Yeah, fat chance of that happening..." The boy with the green hair replied, a similar look of frustration on his face.

The two sighed, feeling quite miserable at the moment.

Having had enough, the boy in the hat yelled out at the sky above them, venting his anger. "Damn it, what's happened to us? We used to be on top of the world! Dinosaur Ryuzaki and Insector Haga, elite champion duelists!" Ryuzaki exclaimed, clenching both fists.

"... and now we're busting our butts trying to make it to the top again against amateurs, a bunch of no names who probably never picked up a deck before last week." Haga finished for his companion.

The two of them dropped the heads, then cried. "Why do we suck so much?"

"Because gentlemen," came an unknown voice, "the two of you were foolish to try and take Yugi and his friends on head on, that's why."

Insulted by this sudden allegation, both Ryuzaki and Haga turned to face where the voice had come from, looking equally upset by it.

"Who are you calling foolish?" Ryuzaki shouted, clenching his fists with rage, "We're great, we're awesome, we can take on anybody!"

"Show yourself, whoever you are, and we'll show you just who the foolish ones are!" Haga challenged, raising his duel disk and looking genuinely pissed.

The voice chuckled with dark amusement from the shadows of the alleyway, before a head of white hair emerged from it, a sinister grin on his face as he stared down the two former great duelists. "Well, if you insist my friends, I have no qualms about showing you two your places in this world."

"BAKURA!" Both Ryuzaki and Haga yelled out, both of them looking thoroughly terrified, only serving to further amuse the dark ring bearer.

"What's the matter boys? You looked so full of steam a moment ago, where's all of that fire you both had underneath you?" The thief chuckled.

Ryuzaki and Haga looked at one another, then turned around to huddle and get their thoughts together, trying to come up with a plan of action.

"Haga, we're screwed! We can't take on Bakura! He's worse than Kaiba and Yugi put together, especially with that crazy shadow magic of his! We don't stand a chance!" Ryuzaki said in a panic, feeling like his whole world was crumbling apart all of a sudden.

Haga did his best to keep calm, but even he was sharing feelings similar to those of his shaken companion, "I know that, you know that, he knows that. We're boned seven ways from Sunday, that's established. But perhaps there's still a way out of this, let me talk to him, perhaps we can persuade him to just ignore us or something."

"I dunno Haga," Ryuzaki said, still feeling nervous, glancing over his shoulder at the dark duelist, then gulping, "Bakura isn't exactly the kind of guy you try and bargain with, something bad always happens."

"Just trust me on this one Ryu, I know what I'm doing," Haga replied, taking a deep breath before mentally adding 'I hope'.

Turning around slowly, the bug duelist did his best to put on a cool face, knowing this was going to difficult as hell to get the two of them out of. "A thousand apologies, Bakura. If we had known it was you there, we wouldn't have acted so rashly as we did. We all know that a great and powerful duelist like yourself is probably far too busy to waste his time on two poor souls like us, what with trying to take down Yugi yourself and stuff. Not to mention we'd be completely out of our minds to try and challenge you personally, isn't that right Ryu?" The green haired boy asked, elbowing his friend in the side.

"Wha- Oh yeah, right!" Ryuzaki added, grinning and trying to keep face in this, "We'd be totally outclassed by a superior duelist like you, embarrassed and humiliated even! We're totally not worth your time!"

"So what do you say Bakura, we just pretend this all never happened and go about our business, and you can go on and do whatever you were going to do? Everyone wins that way," Haga suggested, hoping to God, Ra, Muhammad, Buddha, and any other deity that would listen that the white haired duelist would agree.

Tapping his chin and pacing back and forth, Bakura seemed to be in thought for a moment, then smirked at the two standing before him. "Well Haga, I will agree with you on one thing, you're both not worth my time and effort, that's for sure," he chuckled, succeeding in getting an obvious rise out of the bug and dinosaur duelists, "however, seeing as the two of you seemed so hyped and ready to throw down as it were, I think I might have a solution."

Once again, Haga and Ryuzaki blinked, turned to each other, then gulped before staring back at Bakura, "... you do?"

Grinning to himself, the white haired duelist continued, "Like I said, you're not worth my time.. but my associates might be more your speed, as it were." Stepping off to the side, Bakura motioned back to the alleyway, and almost from nowhere stepped out the 'associates' he was speaking of.

Brandishing her own duel disk, the street clothed queen of the Dark Kingdom smiled seductively at the two boys before her, with Jadeite not too far behind her. "Seeing how you have your doubts about dueling Ryo, perhaps the two of you would like to try your skill against someone like me," the red haired monarch offered, eying the two of them intently.

It took everything the two duelists had not to completely break down and lose a gallon or two of plasma due to the severe nosebleeds that were threatening to burst forth after laying their eyes on the devilishly beautiful woman who graced them with her presence. Yet again, they turned around to converse on the matter, much to the amusement of their would be opponents.

"Holy crap! Haga, did you see that hot number with Bakura? She's a total fox!" Ryuzaki exclaimed, totally love struck.

"Better than that, Ryu, this could be our chance!" Haga said, a bit red in the face as well.

Blinking curiously, Ryuzaki turned and looked at his friend, "I don't follow."

"Look at it like this," Haga answered, "We know we can't win against Bakura, but if we knock out his little girlfriend in a duel, we might just impress him, and he might let us hang with him! With cred like that, we'd probably get taken seriously again, and maybe even get to the finals easier!"

"Huh?" Ryuzaki thought about that for a moment, then grinned brightly, "Oh yeah! That's right! You might be on to something Haga! Let's go for it!"

Now in complete agreement, the two duelists turned back once more, now feeling much more confident all of a sudden. "Sure lady, we'd be glad to duel against you," Ryuzaki said, his duel disk primed and ready.

"But don't think we'll go easy on you, just because you're a woman. We take our duels quite seriously around here, isn't that right Ryu?" Haga stated, ready with his duel disk as well.

With a dark flame in her eyes and a sadistic smirk on her lips, Queen Beryl chuckled and took a serious stance before the two young men, "Well then boys, show me exactly what you've got." 'Because you're going to need every last bit of it,' the dark queen mused, with her two comrades sharing similar thoughts.

"DUEL!" Both parties cried out, and the two-on-one duel quickly got underway.

-o-o-o-

Despite her claims to want to challenge anyone, Usagi had become, for a lack of a better term, sidetracked in her mission. While her friends had been off engaging in duels with some fairly interesting characters, the blond duelist had become distracted by some of the vendors selling souvenirs and various foodstuffs, and was currently engaged in yet another of her many hobbies: stuffing her face.

"Mmmm! This is so good, almost as good as Mama's or Mako-chan's cooking." The bubbly blond commented between bites, practically inhaling the vegetable mixed pasta with a pair of chopsticks in hand, holding the bowl up close with her other as she wandered around the city, only pausing every so often in her trek to watch and cheer on as other duelists combated each other, making her feel more and more anxious to take on an opponent and start earning her way to the top. "Hmm, that reminds me, I wonder how Mako-chan and the others are doing, I haven't heard anything out of them since we all split up at the opening ceremony."

Almost on cue, a video feed on the various television monitors scattered across the city for the purpose of keeping up with the action going on in the tournament cut to footage of various duels which had already taken place that morning, and now it was showing the closing moments of the duel between Makoto and the alien obsessed duelist Sidney.

"Oh wow! Mako-chan looks awesome, she really showed that guy a thing or two with her awesome warrior monsters!" Usagi squealed, making punching motions with one hand while being careful not to spill her snack in the process, all this action getting her more motivated than she'd already been. Taking a quick moment to slurp down the last of her noodles and the broth with them, Usagi deposited the now empty bowl in a near by trash can before snaking through the crowds once more, now bound and determined to find a challenger.

As if answering her call by some unseen force, the senshi of the moon's attention was drawn to some commotion in front of a familiar location, namely the Crown Fruit Parlor and Arcade, where a duel was being fiercely waged between two younger duelists in the tournament. This might not have mattered to her too much outside of a spectator's position, if not for the fact that one of the competing duelists was none other than her little brother Shingo, who surprisingly enough was on the ropes at the moment, much to the blond's amazement.

The duelist who was in the lead was a girl who appeared to be a few years younger than herself, dressed in a pair of blue jeans and sneakers with a white and teal sleeved t-shirt with a broken heart in the center. Orangish brown hair highlighted with several brighter streaks in it done up in a spiked ponytail topped her head, and a simple pair wire framed sunglasses shielded some of the most piercing violet eyes Usagi had seen out of a girl her age.

Breaking out of her observations for a moment, Usagi turned her attention back to the duel at hand, where Shingo was attempting to mount a counterattack and possibly regain the lead, though judging by their life point totals, that task would be easier said than done.

-

Shingo: 2400

?: 3600

-

"My move!" Shingo called out, drawing his next card and adding it to his hand. "You might think you're so tough, but I'll show you a thing or two, and I've got just the cards to take you down!" He shouted defiantly.

"Talk is cheap, just get on with it already, I'm getting bored..." The girl commented, a mixture of annoyance and just wanting him to shut up.

Now feeling practically insulted, Shingo seemed to blow a gasket or two, glaring at his opponent before finally taking action. "Bored huh? Well we'll see how bored you are once I kick your butt and get one step closer to the finals!" Looking at his hand, Shingo plucked out a card from his hand before continuing his move. "Now I'll summon Expressroid to the field in attack mode!" As he played the card from his hand, what looked like a bullet train with eyes and wheel-like limbs appeared on the field, sounding it's horns and looking ready for battle. (400/1600) "But that's not all, because thanks to Expressroid's special ability, I can now return two "roid" monsters from my graveyard to my hand," he stated, and two cards ejected themselves from his graveyard before he rejoined them with the cards already in his hand. "And now for my big move! I play the spell card Polymerization, and use it to fuse the Expressroid on my fiend with the Truckroid and Drillroid in my hand in order to summon my ultimate monster, Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union!" In a flash, the three roid monsters took to the air in a manner similar to something off of a giant robot series, changing and combining in precise execution to form a towering mecha with a humanoid face, which pumped it's arm in the air before striking a heroic pose, gaining 'ooh's and 'ahh's from the crowd around them. (3600/3000) Feeling his confidence returning, Shingo continued onward, "Now normally when I attack with Stealth Union, his original attack would be cut in half, knocking him down to 1800, but that's why I have this card! Limiter Removal!" As he called it out, Shingo played the spell from his hand, setting it's effect into motion, causing Super Vehicroid - Stealth Union to charge up and pose dynamically as it's power increased (3600/3000 - 7200/3000) "Thanks to Limiter Removal, I can double the attack of all face up machine types on my side of the field until the end of my turn, though the ones effected get destroyed at the end as well. Thankfully that won't be an issue, since I'll only need this turn to beat you!"

The female duelist, in spite of all the action and changes brought on by her younger opponent, only responded to him by yawning and checking her watch, showing almost a complete lack of interest in the duel. "Are you done talking? I'd like to get the rest of this duel over with while I'm young," she called out to him, further infuriating the robot obsessed preteen.

'Ouch,' Usagi thought, feeling like she was reeling from the girl's reaction to her brother's big display of offense, 'For someone who looks like she might lose, this kid doesn't even seem to care about the whole thing.'

That comment was enough to get the youngest member of the Tsukino family completely infuriated, having had quite enough of the other duelist's attitude, "Fine then, you want this duel to end, then here goes! Stealth Union! Attack her White Ninja and wipe out her life points!" The black jet winged mecha nodded before charging forward, it's armored fist drawn back and ready to deliver the crushing blow, even with it's effect knocking out a small percentage of it's power. (7200/3000 - 5400/3000)

In the blink of an eye, the seemingly bored look on the girl's face changed to one of cold and calculated seriousness, and she threw out her hand before calling out for herself. "Reveal Trap Card! Dimension Wall!" Just as Stealth Union's oncoming assault was going to connect with the masked warrior, the very space between them seemed to distort, and the powerful automaton's attacking fist seemed to vanish, only to end up appearing from seemingly nowhere on Shingo's side of the field, much to his apparent shock. Yelling out as it connected, Shingo was blasted back across the battle ground, his life points dropping down as quickly as he seemed to. (L.P.: 2400 - 3900: 0)

"Shingo!" Usagi cried out, bolting from her place in the crowd over to where her younger brother was slowly recovering. "Shingo, are you okay?"

"Ungh.." the brown haired boy groaned, sitting up slowly and shaking his head, "... what just happened?"

"Dimension Wall happened," came a reply, and the two siblings turned their attention to Shingo's victorious opponent, who had her arms crossed and her sunglasses down over her eyes. "Thanks to that card, when you attacked me, it caused you to take the battle damage I would've received instead of me, hence why you lost," she stated matter-of-factly. "If you had been paying attention to the whole field instead of just trying to boost up that reject from a Saturday morning action cartoon, you might have actually seen that coming," she added, looking back at the two of them, then sighed almost out of annoyance, "but then again, that might have been expecting a lot from someone so immature."

"HEY!" Shingo said, feeling indignant over the added insult to his defeat, but got cut off by Usagi, who stood up in defense of her little brother

"Look," Usagi said, looking the younger girl straight in the eyes, "I don't know who you are, but only I get to talk down to my little brother, and even then that's only when he annoys me."

"... That had to be one of the strangest speeches I've heard in a while, especially when you're trying to stick up for the kid," the younger girl said, giving Usagi a few odd looks. Shaking her head some, she then looked her straight in the eyes before continuing. "As for who I am, you're looking at the person who is going to knock off the so-called King of Games, Yugi Mutou, and win Battle City II, Ruki Makino."

Returning the stern glare she received during the girl's introduction, Usagi spoke up, "That's a pretty bold statement Makino-san, but I'm afraid you've still got a ways to go if you want to get up to Yugi-san, and you'll have to go through me as well, because I plan to battle against Yugi in the finals too!"

"Now who's talking a big game, Blondie?" Ruki replied, "If that's your idea of a challenge, then I accept." Within a moment, she had her deck out in her hands, shuffling it over and over again, "Seeing how I didn't get to claim your brother's locater card from him before you jumped in, I'll wager the one he owes me plus my own locator card against one of yours, so when I do end up beating you, I'll just collect from both of you in one go."

"Don't go getting ahead of yourself, Makino-san. You might've beat Shingo, but facing me is a whole different story, that I can promise you," Usagi said, shuffling her deck as well before inserting it into her duel disk, then taking a battle stance. 'I sure hope I know what I'm getting into though,' she thought as they prepared to begin, 'if I lose here, I'm out of the tournament, and that would mean I could kiss facing Yugi in the finals goodbye!'

"DUEL!" Both girls cried out, and the duel quickly got under way.

-

Usagi: 8000

Ruki: 8000

-

Drawing her five cards, Ruki gave a glance to Usagi before speaking again, "Challenger gets first draw, so go ahead and take your best shot."

"If you insist," Usagi answered, drawing her sixth card and looking over her hand before making her first move. "First off, I'll place two cards face down, then play a monster face down in defense mode." Placing the cards into the open slots of her duel disk, three holographic versions of them appeared on the field in their respective places. With that done, the blond duelist continued. "Not much else I can do now, so I'll end my turn."

Once the blond duelist was finished, Ruki drew her first card. "I'll start off by playing Mystical Space Typhoon, and use it to eliminate one of your face down spell or trap cards," she declared, pointing her finger to Usagi's side of the field, "and the one I choose is... the one on your left!"

Usagi watched as her left side face down card rose up, revealing itself to be Magic Cylinder, then promptly exploded into three dimensional shards.

"Don't think I'm done though, I still have a few more cards to play," Ruki said, making her next move, "Next, I'll play a second spell card, Shield Crush, which lets me pick one defense position monster on your side of the field, then destroy it on the spot, and since you only have one, it's officially out of here."

Once more just like with her trap card, Usagi was forced to watch as her face down monster get destroyed by the preteen's spell card. In an instant, a blond haired young sorcerer holding a green staff and wearing a red headband around his head appeared, only to yell out in agony before shattering into a cloud of data.

"With those obstacles out of the way, you're effectively wide open for an attack," Ruki stated, playing one more card from her hand, "Now I summon Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke in attack mode!" In a flash, a fighter enclosed from head to toe in body armor with a purple ponytail sticking out of the back of the head. Clad with a green robe, a red sash around his waist, and wielding two golden-handled daggers in both hands, the metal covered martial artist leaped forth from seemingly nowhere and took a battle stance on the field, eyes glaring intently towards Usagi as he held his weapons ready, awaiting his mistress' orders. (1800/1000) "Now then Sasuke, go forth and attack her directly!" Grunting and giving a swift nod, the ninja warrior seemed to vanish in an instant, only to end up striking the blond teen several times in split second motions, causing her to cry out as a fair size chunk was taken out of her life points. (L.P.: 8000 - 1800: 6200) "That'll do for now. I hope you have something up your sleeve that'll be better than your opening move, because if not, this duel won't last too much longer. Before it's all said and done, I'll cut through the rest of your life points like a hot knife through butter, and you'll be joining that brother of yours on the sidelines for the rest of the tournament."

Collecting her thoughts after her opponent was finished, Usagi took a deep breath and drew her next card 'This girl takes this game seriously, so I'm going to have to as well,' she thought to herself, looking over her hand for a moment, then glancing over Ruki's side of the field, noticing the face down card she had placed during her turn. '... I'd bet anything that's going to be a trap card, so I'll have to look out for it. The duel has just begun, and I know I can come back from this.'

Crossing her arms and drumming her fingers, Ruki stared back at Usagi, seemingly losing patience, "As much as I'd love to let you daydream all day, we have a duel to finish here, and I'd like it to be over before my next birthday if you don't mind."

"Alright then, here goes," Usagi called out, "I play the spell card, Lightning Vortex, and by discarding one card from my hand, I can use it to destroy all the monsters on your side of the field, so say goodbye to your ninja warrior!" Sending one card from her hand to the graveyard, Usagi smirked as a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke and blasting him to dust, leaving her opponent looking mildly annoyed with the outcome. "Next I'll place one card face down, then summon my Rapid-Fire Magician in attack mode!" In a flash, a violet haired sorcerer wielding two magical staffs and clad in gold and black appeared, spinning both of them around before striking a dramatic pose. (1600/1200) "Rapid-Fire Magician, attack Ruki's life points directly!"

"Not so fast, meatballs!" Ruki interupted, "Reveal trap card! Bottomless Trap Hole!" Motioning to her face down card, the holographic image rose up, revealing the image of a green hued monster being sucked own into an abyss. "Since the monster you summoned had more than 1500 attack points, it's automatically destroyed and removed from play," she stated, and Usagi could only look on helplessly as the ground underneath her magician suddenly gave way, sucking him down into it before being destroyed, and being forced to remove her card from the game.

'Well THAT went well,' Usagi thought with a bit of annoyance, then stole a quickl glance at the face down card she placed during that turn, 'well, at least if she tries to attack me this next turn, I might have a way to throw a monkey wrench into things for her.' "I've done all I can for now, so I'll end my turn," she said, turning things over to the younger duelist.

Drawing her next card, Ruki studied her hand for a moment, ".. I'll place a spell or trap card face down for my first move, then I'll summon Strike Ninja in attack mode!" As she said it, Ruki's side of the field flashed for a moment, then a black streak seemed to dart from the rooftops before touching down in front of her. A figure clad almost entirely in black and gold, with a red belt around their waist and a red sash around their neck crossed its arms over it's chest, wielding two silver daggers in both hands and glaring at Usagi through the red eyes of a gold and black ornate face mask. (1700/1200)

"Wow!" Usagi uttered, struck with awe over the elaborate entrance her foe's monster had made, "That was so cool!"

Surprisingly enough, Ruki found herself chuckling at that, "... yeah, I suppose it was." Glancing at the rest of the cards she held, the brown haired duelist then pulled a card from her hand, then placed it into an open slot in her duel disk, "Now I play the equip spell, Fuhma Shuriken, and equip it to my Strike Ninja." The ninja's daggers vanished for a split second, only to be replaced with a couple of ornate throwing stars, giving the masked warrior a significant stat boost. (1700/1200 - 2400/1200) "My equip spell gives a monster with 'Ninja' in it's name a 700 point attack boost, which works out fine for me, but doesn't exactly bode well for you at the moment. Strike Ninja, attack her life point's directly, Shuriken Falling Stars!" Strike Ninja leapt high into the air upon it's mistress' orders with several throwing stars between his clenched fists, preparing to unleash their fury on the blond duelist's unguarded life points.

"I don't think so, Makino-san!" Usagi called out with a smirk, "This time it's my turn to spring a trap! Call of the Haunted!" Casting her hand towards it, the trap card rose up on her side of the field, revealing the image of spirits rising from a dark and dreary graveyard. "With this, I get to special summon a monster from my graveyard in face up attack position, so I'll use it to summon my deck's star monster, the Dark Magician!" Rising up out of the ground through a circle of light, the most famous sorcerer in all of Duel Monsters appeared on the field. Looking up as Strike Ninja launched it's attack from above, the powerful spellcaster spun his staff around with both hands, deflecting the barrage of shurikens back at the ninja warrior, which struck the masked fighter several times before destroying him, and causing Ruki a minor bit of collateral damage as well. (L.P. 8000 - 100: 7900) However, the blond duelist wasn't able to get out of it completely scott free, as a few stray shurikens zoomed to her side of the field, striking her in the process, and making her cry out as her life points trickled down too. (L.P.: 6200 - 700: 5500)

"Not bad for a counter job," Ruki said as the smoke cleared some, "but you forgot about one thing, my monster's equip spell. When Fuhma Shuriken is sent from the field to the graveyard, you lose 700 life points. So while you destroyed my monster, you still got hurt as a result. That is one of the many surprises my deck has in store for anyone who challenges me, but you'll have to wait and see what else it can do for now. Your turn, Meatballs."

"The name is Usagi, not 'Meatballs', and from the way it looks right now, I'm about to put a major hurting on your life points," she said as she drew her next card, "Now I summon another one of my favorite monsters, Magician's Valkyria, in attack mode!" In a flash and a puff of pink smoke, a more elaborately designed version of the Dark Magician Girl with angelic wings and a longer, more ornate wand appeared on the field beside the Dark Magician, who almost seemed to smile at the arrival of one of his fellow spellcasters. (1600/1800)

Ruki's smirk grew, and the brown haired girl decided now was a good time to interrupt her opponent's attempt at a comeback. "Impressive line up you have there, but I think my life points are going to be quite safe. Reveal trap card! Metal Reflect Slime!" Rising up on her end of the field, the face down card was revealed. In a flash, a metallic amorphous blob of silver formed, seemingly shapeless at first, until it pulsated and jutted out, forming spikes all over it's being. (0/3000)

A shocked expression overcame Usagi's face, and her eyes quickly darted towards Ruki, seeking an answer. "Hold on, what gives?" She asked, clearly confused, "You played a trap card, how did you end up with a monster instead?"

"I guess you're not familiar with this type of trap," Ruki answered, crossing her arms and tapping her chin, "See, Metal Reflect Slime is one of a type of trap that, when activated, gets treated as an effect monster. I can use it for sacrificing and such, but it is unable to be used for attacking other monsters. Plus, with it's high defense, it makes a very effective wall to protect my life points. Let's see you get around that, Meatballs."

'She's got a point there,' Usagi thought, considering her options. Even her Dark Magician was five hundred points weaker than this mass of living mercury's defenses, so if she attacked it, it'd only harm her own life points. Looking at what she had left to work with in her hand, the blond duelist's face brightened some, thinking she still had a chance after all. "Prepare to have your wall knocked down, Makino-san. I play the equip spell card, Mage Power, and use it on my Dark Magician!" Placing the card in an open slot, an aura of violet light engulfed the Dark Magician. "Thanks to this spell card, my monster gains five hundred attack and defense points for every spell and trap card on my side of the field, and since there's currently three of them now, his stats go up by fifteen hundred points each!" The already powerful spellcaster seemed to yell out as the great influx of power coarsed through his very being, supercharging his attack and defense points in the process. (2500/2100 - 4000/3600) "Now then, Dark Magician, attack her Metal Reflect Slime! Dark Magic Attack!" Raising his staff with both hands, the spellcaster spun it around once more, before blasting the amorphous blob of metallic goo with a super blast of black magic, watching it spark and spasm before ultimately being destroyed.

Ruki shielded herself a bit from the blast's explosion, though her life points were safe for the moment since it had been in defense mode. However, she knew her opponent's turn wasn't over, and braced herself for the next attack.

"With your shield out of the way, I can finally take a crack at your life points," Usagi said with a grin, pointing straight at her foe. "Magician's Valkyria, you're up now. Attack Ruki's life points directly." The female spellcaster gave an affirmative cry, then took to the air before launching an attack of her own, a pinkish purple blast of magical energy rocketing across the playing field and striking Ruki directly. (L.P.: 7900 - 1600: 6300) "Finally! I was wondering if I'd ever get a clean shot at you," the odango haired duelist giggled, ending her turn.

The younger duelist was stunned at the sudden turn of events, having thought her trap card would at least slow the blond's effort's down some, but it would appear that the girl with the unusually styled hair would not be discouraged. 'I'll give it to her, she's persistant,' Ruki thought, smirking some before drawing her next card, wondering if her deck would be so gracious to her as Usagi's seemed to be towards it's mistress. Upon seeing what card she had drawn, the brown haired girl's reaction was mixed, but she sighed, thinking it would have to do for now. "I play the spell card, Scapegoat, letting me summon four Sheep Tokens on my side of the field in defense mode, then end my turn." As she said this and put the spell card into play, four pastel colored little balls of fluff with horns appeared on the field in front of her, each one looking cheerful and sickeningly cute in her own opinion. (0/0 x 4) 'If nothing else, they'll at least slow her down a bit while I come up with a way to knock the wind out of the sails of her Dark Magician,' she thought.

Drawing her next card, Usagi's eyes danced delightedly over it before she looked at Ruki, "Looks like I get to demolish your defenses yet again, Makino-san. I play the spell card, Diffusion Wave-Motion," she said, activating the card she'd drawn, "and by giving up a thousand life points, I can choose a level seven or higher spellcaster on my side of the field, and it gets to attack all of the monsters on your side of the field once each. So now my Dark Magician gets to blast those little lambs of yours back to the cotton mills! Dark Magic Attack times four!" Charging his staff once more, the powered up sorcerer lunged forward, leaping towards Ruki's side of the field and striking each Sheep Token one right after another. "Now then, seeing as I can't attack with my other monster due to the effects of Diffusion Wave-Motion, I now end my turn. Over to you, Makino-san!"

Ruki cringed as her field was bare once more, watching as the smoke cleared and the dust settled between the two combatants, and finding herself suddenly back at square one so to speak. 'She's good, I didn't expect her to get through all of my tokens in one move,' she thought, feeling as though she had seriously underestimated the blond duelist's skills considerably. 'If this keeps up, I might actually lose to her, and I just can't let that happen.' Her resolve returning, Ruki drew another card, "I play the spell card Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards from my deck." In a flash, the green and blue pot with the rather horrid looking face appeared on the field, chuckling darkly before exploding, and two cards were drawn from Ruki's deck, which she then adde to her hand. 'Bingo,' she thought, then made her next move, "Now I play the spell card Heavy Storm, which lets me destroy all the spell and trap cards on the field, which means your Dark Magician's attack and defense points return to normal, but on top of that, it also means he goes back to the graveyard." The winds started to pick up significantly around the two duelists, with thunder and lightning being heard and seen as well, and in the blink of an eye, all of the cards in Usagi's spell and trap zone were blown away, destroyed almost immediately afterwards. The Dark Magician tried with all of his might to hold on, but was soon overtaken by the storm as well, destroying him in the process too. Feeling herself gaining momentum again, the brown haired duelist smirked, "As if that wasn't enough for you to deal with, now I summon my second Strike Ninja in attack mode!" With a little less bravado, the gold and black clad ninja sommersaulted into place on Ruki's side of the field, clenching the daggers in both hands tight. (1700/1200) "Strike Ninja, do me a favor and take out her Valkyria!" Giving a low grunt, the ninja warrior seemed to become a streak of red and black, before finally dashing past the female sorceress, causing her to cry out as his attack met it's mark, sending her on a one way trip to the graveyard and doing Usagi a slight bit of life point damage as a result. (L.P.: 5500 - 100: 5400) "Now who is the defenseless one, Meatballs?" Ruki asked a bit smugly, receiving a glare from the blond for her efforts, "Lastly, I play a card face down, then end my turn." The spell or trap card appeared face down on the younger duelist's side of the field, and she motioned over to her opponent, waiting to see if and how she'd recover.

'Makino-san is really good,' Usagi thought, 'with just a single turn, she's managed to turn the tides of this duel in her favor once more.' Looking down, the blond duelist stared at her deck, 'I can see why Shingo ended up losing to her, she wasn't being cocky with that attitude, it's complete confidence in her dueling capabilities and in her deck. If I want to end up beating her, I have to show just as much confidence in my own abilities, and believe in all the heart and effort that I put into fine tuning my deck as well.' With renewed determination swelling up inside, Usagi took hold of the top card of her deck and drew it. Staring at what she had drawn, a smile formed on her lips before she turned to face Ruki once more. "Makino-san, I'm really enjoying our duel. So far you've managed to push me harder than anyone I've faced yet, and I feel myself getting pumped more and more as this duel progresses. So I cannot allow myself to lose, not matter how high the odds are stacked against me! Not only would it dishonor all of the energy you've put into it, but I wouldn't get my chance to go to the finals and face Yugi-san! So here goes!" Putting the card she'd drawn into play, Usagi shouted out, "Hope you don't mind me following your example, because now I play my own Pot of Greed!" In a flash, the grinning pot appeared on Usagi's side of the field this time, before cackling and shattering to pieces as she drew two more cards, studying what she had drawn before her eyes lit up. 'Perfect!' She thought as she stared at her hand, then proceeded to make her next move. "I summon my Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" Putting the card into play, a burst of light shimmered before Usagi, and a tall sorcerer in dark robes with blue and gold armor appeared, his face shadowed by a cloth hood and wielding a long staff that resembled a lightning rod, crackling with the charge of it's master's own energy as it stood between the blond duelist and her younger opponent. (1900/1700). "However, I'm not ready to attack, because I still have one more monster to bring out!" Usagi proclaimed, holding up the other card in her hand.

"No way!" Ruki called out, "You've already played a monster this turn! You're not alowed to play one again in the same turn! It's against the rules!"

"Wrong!" Usagi shouted back, smiling confidently, "I did use my normal summon for this turn already, but I can still perform a special summon, and that's what I'm going to do right now!" Pulling out the contents of her graveyard, the blond duelist searched through the small stack of cards for a moment, before picking out two of them and removing them, then returning the remaining cards to her graveyard once more. "By removing one Light and one Dark monster in my graveyard from play, I can special summon the other monster in my hand: Chaos Sorcerer!" For a brief moment, two bright lights shimmered on Usagi's side of the field, revealing the forms of her Magician's Valkyria and her Dark Magician, then the two of them vanished just as quickly as they appeared, causing a third light to come forth in their place. A black silouette formed from the beam of light, and soon took the form of a pale skinned man, clad in black and gold robes with a hood over the top of his head, smirking deviously as both light and dark energy glowed in his hands. (2300/2000) Usagi smirked, "My Chaos Sorcerer might look wicked, but he fights to control the chaos instead of spreading it. He also has a great special effect too. Once per turn during my Main Phase, I get to remove one face-up monster on the field from play." Pointing a finger towards Ruki's side of the field, she singles out the younger girl's ninja warrior, "Strike Ninja, begone!"

Ruki gasped as her Strike Ninja was suddenly surrounded by light and dark energy, before vanishing in an instant. 'Not good,' she thought, watching Usagi as she continued her turn.

Seeing the girl's lone monster gone, Usagi grinned, "Since your ninja is no longer a factor, I get to attack you directly. However, due to my Chaos Sorcerer's effect, I can't attack with him this turn, but luckily I still have my other monster in play. Go Skilled Dark Magician!" Raising the round end of his metallic staff, the orb on the end of the rod swirled with powerful magic, errupting forth in a blinding beam of energy, striking the younger duelist and striking out a sizable chunk of her life points. (L.P.: 6300 - 1900: 4400) "Alright! I've taken the lead!" She proclaimed delightly, "That's all for this turn, I hand things off to you now, Makino-san!"

'Unbelievable,' Ruki found herself thinking, letting her mind process the events of the last few minutes. 'I had taken down her best offenses, and only a turn later she comes back even stronger.' Drawing her next card, the younger duelist frowned, the cards apparently not in her favor. "I play a monster face down in defense mode, and end my turn," she said, playing the card from her hand.

"My move!" Usagi said, drawing her next card. "Since your monster is face down this turn, I can't activate Chaos Sorcerer's effect, so I'll attack it with my Skilled Dark Magician instead. Skilled Magical Blast!" Lunging forward, the dark spellcaster drew energy into the tip of his staff, then unleased it in a powerful burst, completely destroying the face down card as Ruki's second Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke shimmered into full view, giving a death cry before exploding into a cloud of pixels. "Now that your monster is out of the way, your life points are wide open! Chaos Sorcerer, attack Ruki's life points directly!" The slightly crazed looking sorcerer chuckled under his breath, gathering both light and dark magic into his cupped palms, then jutting both hands outward, sending the dual-colored orb of energy rocketing straight at the younger duelist, causing her to shriek as it struck. Staggering backwards from the blunt of the attack, she managed to steady herself and shake it off, though her life points were not so lucky. (L.P.: 4400 - 2300: 2100) "Yeah! That's how it's done!" Usagi cried out joyously, pumping a fist in the air with a feeling of triumph, "just one more turn, and this duel is game!"

Drawing what could potentially be her last card, Ruki looked at what she had drawn, then sighed, smirking slightly before glancing at Usagi. "Looks like you were right, Meatballs," the younger duelist said, raising her duel disk and taking a defensive stance, "my luck seems to have run out this time, but I have to admit it, it has been fun. Go on Usagi, give me all you've got!"

Giving a nod, Usagi smirked as well, giving her fellow duelist the thumbs up, then drawing her final card. "You've been a more than worthy opponent, Ruki-chan, I hope we can play together again sometime, but for now, this duel is mine! Chaos Sorcerer, one more time! Direct attack!" Following his mistress' command, the chaotic spellcaster launched one final attack, his aura of light and darkness striking quickly, wiping out the last of Ruki's life points. (L.P. 2100 - 2300: 0)

With that final strike, the duel was over. Once the dust had settled and the holograms had disappeared, Usagi walked up to Ruki with a smile on her face, extending her hand to the younger girl. "You were awesome out there, Ruki-chan," Usagi said happily, "I have to hand it to you, you're an excellent duelist. There were moments in there that I didn't think I'd be able to pull back on, I actually thought you might beat me."

"Yeah well, you're pretty good yourself, Meatballs," Ruki smirked, taking the offered hand firmly in her own. "I've got to admit, I didn't exactly take you seriously at first, but no matter what I did, you kept bouncing back with combo after combo. It was truly impressive." Looking the older girl straight in the eyes, the brown haired duelist gave her a genuine smile, "In the end, it was clear who the better duelist. Good job."

Usagi smiled and nodded, "Thanks Ruki-chan."

Reaching into her pocket, Ruki pulled out her locator card and handed it over, as well as giving Usagi one other card. Taking a look at what she'd been given, Usagi blinked, "Metal Reflect Slime?"

Ruki nodded, "It's a good trap as you saw, and when used correctly, it can be a strong defense wall. Plus if you're in a pinch, it can be used as a sacrifice as well just like a normal monster. I know you'll put it to good use... Usagi-chan."

Usagi smiled, putting her newly earned cards into the pack on her belt, just in time for her brother to pop up behind the blond duelist.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Usagi," Shingo said, looking a little red. Holding up a card too, he handed her the locator card he'd lost in the earlier duel against Ruki, "Guess this means I'm out of the tournament. This is yours now," he said.

Taking the card from her younger brother, Usagi smiled and ruffled her brother's hair, much to his annoyance. "Rest assured little brother, I won't let you or Ruki-chan down." Turning around, the blond's eyes glowed with determination, looking forward to whatever lied ahead of her. 'My first duel is over, and I already have three locator cards. My journey to the Battle City II finals and a opportunity to duel with Yugi has taken a big step forward. No matter what happens from here on out, I'm going to do my best, and try to go all the way to the very top!'

-o-o-o-

As one duelist celebrated the thrill of victory, two others cried out with the agony of defeat.

Haga and Ryuzaki both collapsed as both of their life points reached the zero mark, and the red haired queen of the Dark Kingdom chuckled wickedly after claiming the win over the duo.

"I must say, that was much more satisfying than I thought it would be," Queen Beryl said with obvious amusement, turning her hand and raising a finger. Engulfed in her dark aura, Haga and Ryuzaki's locator cards floated up over them in the air, but only four of them shot towards the dark ruler.

Raising an eyebrow to this, Jaedite turned towards her inquizitively, "You're actually letting them go?"

"Indeed, my dear Jaedite," the dark queen mused, claiming the locator cards she had taken from the two boys. "They might not be that bright, but I think they might end up serving a purpose in the grand scheme of things. Plus, the more eyes and ears we have in this tournament, the more likely we are to achieve our goals more quickly." She then turned her attention to the third member of their party, a faint smirk on her lips, "Wouldn't you agree Bakura?"

The white haired duelist chuckled lowly, leaning against the alleyway with his arms crossed, "If nothing else, they provide enough amusement that I don't mind allowing them to continue existing in this plain."

The wicked monarch nodded in agreement, a dark smirk gracing her lips, "Now that I've had a proper warm up, it's time for us to proceed as planned. Before this little tournament is over with, the power of the Millennium Items will be in our grasp, and the Dark Kingdom will reign supreme now and forever."

Chuckling softly as they departed from the alleyway with their newest aquired minions in tow, the bearer of the Millennium Ring had much more self serving thoughts than those of his comrades. 'Just keep playing along by my rules, my queen,' Bakura thought to himself, smirking devilishly, 'in the very end, darkness shall rule the land, but who commands the darkness still remains to be seen.'

-o-o-o-

So we had a crossover within a crossover, with Usagi dueling against the Digimon Queen herself Ruki Makino of Digimon Tamers fame (Rika Nonaka of season three to those who have only watched the dub). Don't know if that was just a bit much, but it just seemed to work for this instance. At any rate, our odango haired heroine has won her first duel and gained two locator cards, putting her that much closer to the finals. However, the bad guys have also made a big jump in the running too, and have grown in number with the additions of Insector Haga and Dinosaur Ryuzaki, no matter how reluctant it might've been on those two's parts. Things can only get more interesting from here on out, and the tournament isn't even halfway over!

Once again I find myself apologizing for the agonizingly long gap between chapters, and I thank all of you who have stayed with me up to this point. This chapter took much, much, much longer to write than I had originally thought it would... Scratch that, it took about as long as I thought it would, actually doing it just took forever because of my laziness and the fact that my old laptop died halfway through the old version of chapter ten. But at long last, I've reached the end of the tenth installment of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters," and I must say it feels pretty good to be able to say that after so long. I've never had one of my stories go past nine chapters, so the fact that I've managed to get this far just blows away all of my wildest expectations.

Computer problems and real life obligations aside, there was a period of time when I just didn't feel motivated, and whenever I sat down and opened up a new document to try and crank something out, my mind would just completely blank out, and nothing at all would come to me when I tried to write. However, in the last month or so, the drive finally returned, my mojo got pumping again, and after another eight months, I finally managed to put together a few ideas and write out what I think is a pretty good addition to this fanfic. Hopefully my efforts will not have been in vain, and everyone will enjoy what I've managed to do here. I don't expect for me to be able to just bust out with the next one in a big hurry, especially with me getting ready to move into my new apartment on top of the fact that work runs me pretty ragged these days, but I can promise everyone this much, I'm going to try my hardest to keep this story going for as long as I am able to come up with ideas and plot devices. I really enjoy this one, which is why I don't want to see it die off like so many of my past literary works have done.

At any rate, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Read, review, let me know what you thought, and I'll see you all again for chapter eleven! See ya!

~JayManney4Life


	11. Chapter 11

At last! Chapter 11 is here!

... -gets down on his hands and knees, bowing to his loyal readers- I am so, so, SO sorry it's taken me so long to update. I ended up going past my usual deadline of eight months, and now it's nearly a year that's gone by without anything out of me. x.X I feel terrible about this. I really want this story to succeed, and I want to see it all the way to the end. Life has gotten in the way a lot, but most of this has been laziness on my part, and that I cannot forgive myself for. You guys have been great, sticking with me all this time, and I swear I will try harder from here on out. I've gotten several chapters already planned out, and at least two partially written besides this one. So hang in there, true believers, your wait is now over!

And now, because I know you guys love the acknowledgement and I love giving it to you, time for reviews!

Alycee Lanet - I updated! Your pleads were not unheard! It is here! :D

Anime Monster - Yeah, it IS going to be long. I've already gotten chapter 12 half written already, chapter 13 started as well, and I've even gotten stuff outlined through all the way to chapter 18... and that's not even close to being where the story will end. x.X Stay tuned!

Aceina - wow, you posted a review for a lot of my chapters one after another :D and as far as the ban list goes, I'm pretty much ignoring that sucker here in my story, since it kind of cramps things some when coming up with good decks :P anyways, glad you've enjoyed it so far, I plan to keep this thing going for as long as I can

Ten-Faced Paladin - I'm sorry you missed it too, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update until now. But now I've got things planned out more or less, and I've already gotten stuff written for the next couple of chapters, so hopefully barring the problems that usually ail me, this won't happen again. :D

anime shadow alpha - well, better late then never. hope you enjoy it! :D

LunarStar Princess Krystal - I'm really glad you enjoyed the duel so much, I always try to put a lot of effort into making them play out good. And adding Rika-Ruki to the mix was just something I thought would be amusing, and I'm glad I'm able to still throw a few surprises your way. :D Sorry about your tonsils, though you're probably long over it now. I had mine out when I was little, so I can sympathize. -big hug-

Gallantmon of the Hazard - Yeah x.X It's been way too long since I last updated, almost a year at this point, but I'm back, and the ball is rolling yet again, and showing no signs of slowing down! :D I'm glad throwing Rika-Ruki as a duelist has been so well received. I might throw in a few other cameos here and there from different people, if I feel I can do it without ruining the fic. And yes, Rex and Weevil do make for good lackeys, whether they want to be or not. :P Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Peace! :D

... and did I fix that error? I don't remember now. x.X

Usagi Uchiha - I LIVE! :D

Glad you enjoyed chapter 10, it was a fun one to write. :D And the Digimon Queen was from season three, otherwise known as Digimon Tamers to most fans. -nerd moment-

Lex - Glad to see I had the ability to entice even normally non readers of Yu-Gi-Oh, it can be enjoyable when done right. :D As far as Usagi's -insane- good luck goes, it's the start of the tournament, she has to win one, since she's one of the main characters and all. I'll try to tone things down though later on, and make it more competitive. As far as links between the Millennium Items and the Moon Kingdom go, well, you'll just have to read on and wait to see. :P

azurelong - Glad you enjoyed it! :D Hope you enjoy this one too!

-o-o-o-

Poking his head up from behind the podium, a young man with rust colored hair and golden eyes looked around in a curious manner. Wearing a red school jacket, a black shirt, and white pants, a big smile formed on his face as he adjusted the microphone, tapping it a few times to see if it worked.

"Um, hello? Testing, one, two, three, four... okay then, looks like things work! Awesome!" The boy grinned, then cleared his throat. "First off, just want to say 'Hi!' to everybody, and I want to thank everyone for reading so far! In case no one knows, my name's Judai Yuki, and I'm an Osiris Red student at Duel Academia. Pretty sweet, right?" He chuckled for a moment, then smiled before continuing. "Anyways, enough about me, time for why I'm here. The boss man, Mr. Jay, asked me if I wouldn't mind doing the disclaimer for him for this chapter. Naturally I jumped on it, since it meant I'd get to be in the fic, even if only for a few minutes, so here goes! JayManney4Life didn't create Yu-Gi-Oh! or Sailor Moon, and doesn't own either of them. If he did, I'd be getting to duel in this tournament too, and having fun with Yugi, Kaiba, Jounouchi, Usagi, and the rest of the two gangs, but oh well. Please don't sue him, he's already poor, and has been forced to eat off of ramen like some college student. At any rate, he's just writing this for fun, and not trying to make any money off of it, so cut the poor guy some slack, okay?"

With that said, Judai smiled for the camera, with Jay popping up beside him, and Hane Kuriboh floating between the two of then. Both armed with their duel disks, the two of them grinned big and gave a thumbs up for the camera before shouting out together. "Now get your game on, and on with the show!"

-o-o-o-

Domino City was about average as far as most good sized cities went. It wasn't as large as some of the other major cities in Japan, but it still managed to have it's own unique charm to it, as did it's major landmarks. One of these said landmarks happened to be the tallest office skyscrapers in the entire city, namely that of the Kaiba Corporation building. Towering over the rest of Domino City like a pillar, it stood as both the headquarters and heart of Kaiba Corp, and also the nerve center for all of the dueling activities around the city during the big tournaments and major events, such as the current one in progress at the moment, Battle City II.

Approaching the private helipad located at the very top of the building, the company helicopter soon touched down for a landing, with several security guards on hand to meet the two passengers waiting inside. Once the hatch door was opened, the two Kaiba brothers stepped out of the slowly powering down chopper, making their way to the sky entrance of the top floor and boarding the elevator with their entourage in tow. Fairly quickly, they descended the many levels of the multi-billion dollar office building, before ultimately reaching their desired location in the third level of the company's basement, which housed Kaiba Corp.'s central computer mainframe, as well as the core monitoring center for all Kaiba Corp.'s satellites and video surveillance. Displayed across the many video monitors littered throughout the massive networking hub, the outcomes of duels were being recorded and observed by several member's of the CEO's highly trained technical staff, part of their many duties while working directly under the authority of the elder Kaiba brother himself.

"Big brother," Mokuba said, breaking his silence from their arrival back at Kaiba Corp., "why did we have to come back so soon? I was hoping we'd get to go down and watch some of the duels, or at least catch one of Yugi or Katsuya's matches."

"I think we'll get enough of Yugi before this is all over, Mokuba, it's not like he's going to get eliminated before the finals," Seto stated as a matter of fact, knowing full well how good the reigning 'King of Games' was, both from personal experience and otherwise, "and and as for Jounouchi, if you wanted to go look at a dog so much, I'll just get you a puppy from the pound."

"But Seto…" Mokuba looked up at his big brother, feeling a bit disappointed about not being able to be down with the general public, especially to see their friends in action.

The elder Kaiba shot a look down at his younger brother, intending to say something, but one look at that sad face and he found himself giving the long haired boy a soft smirk, "Don't worry Mokuba, we won't be here very long, and we'll be back out there in plenty of time for you to go play cheerleader to the dynamic duo."

That news put a big smile on the younger Kaiba brother's face, nodding happily, "Okay, Seto, if you say so."

Once inside the main control station, Seto was approached by one of the lab technicians, a young woman with thinly framed glasses with mint colored hair that came down to her neckline, wearing a white lab coat and holding a clip board with several papers secured to it. "Here are the current updates in the tournament's rankings, Mr. Kaiba," the young lady said in a polite manner, handing the clip board over to the brown haired CEO. Even as Kaiba sifted through the data, she continued. "All Kaiba Corp satellites are working at one hundred percent efficiency, and so far no errors have been reported in the dueling systems as of yet."

"Excellent, now let's make sure it stays that way then," Kaiba responded, walking towards the main control panel for the room. "I want Battle City II to be a success, but I also want people to be safe this time around, so I want everyone doing their parts to make sure this happens. That means making sure there are no off site mainframes, no clowns in bad tuxedos trying to kill people with buzz saws, no giant anchors and death matches by the harbor, none of that. If there is so much as a single person running around in a hood and cape, I don't even care if it's the god damned Batman, I want them caught and beaten on site!" Once he was sure he'd made himself absolutely clear, the young CEO recomposed himself and spoke once more, "So make sure everyone does their best around here, and let's make sure that the whack jobs running around in the tournament are kept down to a minimum. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, Mister Kaiba," she responded, giving a courteous nod before walking away to return to her duties, leaving the two Kaiba brothers alone once more.

"You're certainly taking a lot of precautions this year, big brother," Mokuba commented, having paid close attention to what his big brother had dictated to the green haired woman.

"And not without just cause, either," the elder Kaiba brother replied. "Even with as successful of a turnout we had last time, it still doesn't hide the fact that the whole thing was pretty much hijacked and used for the sinister purposes of a madman, claiming to be possessed by a solid gold Egyptian artifact, solely bent on acquiring three Duel Monsters cards for the purpose of taking over the world. Not to mention the fact that the same madman had you kidnapped just to get at me and one of those cards." Clenching his fists, Seto could practically still see the face of the blond haired young man with the glowing eye on his forehead, and smacked his fist on the computer console. "But that's not going to happen again, not this year. I'm going to make absolutely sure of that."

"Mr. Kaiba, sir," a pink haired female tech spoke up from her work station, "we just received data from a recently finished duel."

"There are a lot of duels currently going on at the moment, Miss Rose, why should I care about this one?" Seto responded.

"Because sir, one of the duelists was that young woman you asked us to keep track of, the Tsukino girl," she replied, bringing up the information on one of the room's larger monitors.

Seto said nothing as the uncut footage played out in front of him, from the end of the previous match with the Makino girl, to Usagi taking up the defense of her kid brother and challenging the opponent personally. The fact that she stuck up for her younger sibling did contribute a few points for her in Seto's opinion, though he'd be the last person to admit that. Upon actually watching her duel from beginning to end, the elder Kaiba brother was starting to think there might have been some truth in Sugoroku's thoughts on the girl, never turning his eyes from the screen with every card that was played.

'She definitely seems to have potential,' he thought with a great deal of consideration, 'I'm still not sure if she's as up to par as the old man seems to think she is, but I'll keep my eyes on her all the same. This tournament might actually get interesting after all.'

"Wow Seto, she's good!" Mokuba spoke up with an excited smile, having been enjoying the replay of the duel, "I sure hope we get to see her in the finals."

"Hmph," Seto grunted, crossing his arms, "that is if she makes it that far, Mokuba. There's still a lot of other people out there trying to get in as well, so if she wants a shot at the big leagues, Miss Tsukino is going to have her work cut out for her. Let's just wait and see how long her luck holds out for."

-o-o-o-

Despite her best attempts to keep her mind on the tournament, Rei kept finding herself thinking back on the ominous vision that had been plaguing her recently. Playing it over and over again inside her head, she'd managed to come up with at least a handful of conclusions about it, but none of them put her at any sort of ease. It seemed as though there was not just one, but possibly two different enemies joining together, and that spelled trouble no matter how you looked at it. A voice in the back of her mind told the fire senshi that her and the others should be preparing themselves for the worst, and not be off playing a children's card game, but Luna had made her point. Until they had something concrete to go on, there was no point in breaking their plans just yet.

"I guess Luna's right," Rei said to herself with a deep sigh. "Getting all stressed out over it isn't going to help me or anyone in the long run. I should just relax and just handle things as they come." Finally clearing her head, Rei turned her attention back towards the tournament, and began actively seeking out an opponent to duel against. However, just as she started looking, Rei spotted two guys yelling back and forth with one another, only to be surprised when she saw it was two of Yugi's friends. Curiosity getting the better of her, the raven haired girl made her way across the street towards them, wondering just what it was they were going on about.

"You've got to be kidding me, YOU'RE going to do duel, Honda?" Katsuya asked, looking rather shocked.

Hiroto puffed up a bit, feeling rather indignant at his friend's voice of disbelief. "Yeah I am. What's so hard to believe about that, Jounouchi?" He shout back, shuffling his brand new deck.

"Well, no offense man, but last I checked, you weren't exactly that skilled at the game," Katsuya replied, "heck, from what Otogi said, you were the first to go down during that mess with the Big Five."

"Yeah well, that was then, and this is now," Hiroto said, "and just so you know, I fought hard before that ended up happening." Looking at the blond teen, Honda became serious for a moment. "Ever since that and the other incidents happened, I've actually been busting my butt trying to become a better duelist instead of just being stuck as another cheerleader. I've been doing stuff like watching old videos of you and Yugi's duels, and I've even been taking lessons from Yugi and his grandpa, and now I feel like I'm ready to show off my stuff."

Jounouchi sighed in exasperation, seeing his friend was hard bent on this, then half smiled. "Well, if you're really serious about it, then what else can I do but back you up on it? Go for it Honda."

Honda nodded, glad to have the full vote of confidence from his long time best friend. 'Knowing how these tournaments usually turn out for us, I'm going to need all the support I can get,' he thought to himself, 'Heck, maybe if I'm lucky, no big bads will show up this time, and I might actually stand a chance of making it to the finals.'

Beaming at the idea of possibly going all the way to the top, the spike haired teen barely noticed when someone was calling out to him and Jounouchi, leaving it up to the blond one to glance back at whomever it was. Cocking an eyebrow at first, Katsuya didn't register the face at first, then his brain finally kicked in and he was reminded of breakfast at Yugi's house that morning. 'Oh yeah, I remember now,' he thought as the raven haired girl finally caught up to them, stopping a moment to catch her breath. "Hey, you're one of the girls Yugi introduced us to this morning, aren't you?" He asked, tapping the side of his right temple while trying to remember her name. "Don't tell me, I'll get it… Hino, Rei Hino, wasn't it?" Looking back at her, Jounouchi waited a moment to see if he had guessed right.

Rei smiled as Jounouchi remembered her name, giving him a nod before answering him. "Yes, that's correct," she replied, "and you two are Katsuya and Hiroto, right?"

"Right on the first try!" Honda exclaimed with a big smile.

"So Rei, how's the tournament going for you so far?" Jounouchi asked.

Blushing a bit, Rei gave a somewhat embarrassed smile before answering. "A bit slow to be honest, I really haven't even started looking for other challengers yet."

The two boys both laughed understandingly, feeling very sympathetic towards her. "Yeah, we know just how you feel," Jounouchi said, smirking cockily and thumbing his nose, "though that's kind of just because we're waiting for all of the small fries to get weeded out a bit. You know, saving ourselves for the bigger fish."

"That's your story, Jounouchi," Honda chimed in, "but as for me, this is more or less my first big attempt at the tournament scene. Up until recently, I've more or less just been an observer, but now I'm trying to become a full fledged duelist."

Rei smiled some at Honda's proclamation, glad to see she wasn't the only newbie there for the first time. "I guess this is new for the both of us then," she commented, putting a hand behind her head and laughing a bit.

Honda chuckled as well, then had a sudden thought before smiling back at her. "Hey, I just had a great idea! Why don't you hang out with us for a while? You know, tag along while we hunt around for other duelists to challenge?"

Rei blinked at the sudden suggestion, not sure what to say at first, then shook her head some apologetically. "That's nice of you, but I wouldn't want to impose on the both of you.," she said with a big of a blush on her face, "I mean, you guys are nice and all, but I wouldn't want you to be slowed down on my part…"

Jounouchi cut her off right there, grinning confidently, "Nah, you wouldn't be slowing us down. Besides, we'd feel better with a third person. Normally we have our friend Anzu with us, but she decided to go and tag along with Yugi instead."

"Yeah, come on, it'll be fun!" Honda pleaded with her, trying to sound convincing, "You'd basically be doing us a favor.. Besides, we might have more luck finding competition if we're working together. What do you say?"

Before Rei even had the opportunity to respond to the two of them, someone else took that moment to jump into the conversation, literally.

"REI-SAN!"

Leaping down from seemingly out of nowhere, a guy in priest robes and long shaggy brown hair over his eyes put himself in between Rei and the two friends, taking a battle stance while wielding a kendo stick. "Rei-san, are you alright? These two hoodlums didn't try and do anything to you, did they?" He asked with great concern in his voice, glancing back over his shoulder at her for a moment before turning his attention to Jounouchi and Honda, appearing ready to defend her to the bitter end.

"Hoodlums?" Honda and Jounouchi asked simultaneously, looking at the strange guy for a moment, then at one another, feeling both confused and even a bit insulted. "Who's this guy supposed to be, some kind of wannabe wandering samurai?" Jounouchi shot back, looking rather indignant.

Rei groaned, then proceeded to take the guy's weapon and bash him over the head with it. "Just what are you doing here, Yuuichirou? You're supposed to be watching the temple and looking after my grandfather."

Honda took this moment to speak up, really wanting to know what the heck was going on. "Hey Rei, do you know this weirdo?" He asked, scratching his head a bit.

"Unfortunately, yes I do," Rei sighed as she replied, "his name is Yuuichirou Kumada, and he works as a disciple at my grandfather's shrine. In fact, he's supposed to be there right now, helping my grandfather look tend to things there while I'm here at the tournament." Looking back at home once more, Rei waited for Yuuichirou to get back up to his feet before verbally digging into him again. "So why are you here in the city instead of attending to your duties, Yuuichirou?"

Rubbing the sore spot on his head where Rei had clobbered him, Yuuichirou attempted to explain himself as best he could, "Well Rei-san, your grandfather was worried about you and your safety. Apparently he heard some weird stories about the previous tournament. Bad things kept happening to random people who entered, like getting possessed by dark forces or losing their souls in the games. With that in mind, he sent me into the city to tail you in secret, and told me to look out for any questionable types who might try and take advantage of you and defile your purity as a priestess in training." Turning around, he turned his attention towards Honda and Jounouchi, pointing his finger towards them and speaking up once more, "and it seems as though Sensei's fears were not unfounded, seeing as these two were trying to steal you away to who knows where, to do who knows what to you, until I caught them in the act and stepped in!"

"Now just wait a damned minute, pal," Honda shouted, having clearly heard more than enough of what was coming out of the guy's mouth, "I can understand wanting to look out for your friends, but you don't just go around leaping down from rooftops and randomly accusing people of things like that." Pointing a finger of his own back at Yuuichirou, Honda shouted once more with fiery passion, "I can take being called a lot of names, but when you put my integrity as a gentleman into question, that's when I get pissed!"

"Yeah man, we weren't doing anything to Rei! We're just friends, we met at our friend Yugi's house," Jounouchi tried his best to explain things, attempting to talk himself and Honda out of this mess of a misunderstanding. "We were just asking her if she wanted to hang out with us for a while. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Unfortunately for the two of them, their explanations and claims were apparently falling on deaf ears, as Yuuichirou remained firmly convinced otherwise. "You both claim to have pure intentions for Rei-san, but I still don't buy it!" He said firmly, then clenched his fist, "So then, let us settle this this in an honorable fashion! The truth will be revealed… in a duel!" Grabbing the collar of his temple robes, he proceeded to yank them completely, revealing his street clothes underneath them with some sort of device strapped to his back. Releasing the buckles on the harness, he let it drop and grabbed hold of it, revealing the item in question to be a duel disk. Slipping it onto his left arm, Yuuichirou then proceeded to declare a challenge, pointing his finger towards Honda. "I challenge you to a duel of honor! If I win, you and your buddy will have no further contact with Rei-san from here on out!"

"Alright, fine, I accept," Honda replied, arming his own duel disk, "but only on the condition that if I win, you have to apologize to both me and Jounouchi."

"Reasonable terms, but don't count on it happening. I have no intention of losing when Rei-san's honor is on the line," Yuuichirou replied, feeling quite determined about the outcome even before the duel had even started.

The raven haired girl groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose and sighing in exasperation. "Idiot, who even said my honor needed defending?" Rei asked, looking thoroughly annoyed, "You probably just came here to try for the prize money."

Yuuichirou sweatdropped at Rei's accusations, not turning to face her out of a bit of embarrassment. "Well, sensei DID say the temple could use some renovations, and a million dollars IS a lot of money… but I meant everything I said!" With that said, he returned his gaze to Honda's.

"DUEL!" The two of them shouted in unison, knowing the time for talk was over, now it was time to let their cards settle things for them.

-

Honda: 8000

Yuuichirou: 8000

-

"Alright then, since I accepted the challenge, I'll draw first!" Honda proclaimed, both he and Yuuichirou having drawn their opening hands, drawing his sixth card. Glancing over his hand for a moment, Hiroto contemplated just what his opening move should be. 'Hmm.. Looks like I got a few good cards here, but that's not too surprising. I put a lot of work into this deck to make it good,' he thought, taking a deep breath as he got himself psyched up, 'Time to see if the Heart of the Cards will be with me as it has been for Yugi and Katsuya.'

"C'mon Honda! Clean that joker's clock!" Jounouchi cheered on, trying to show support for his best friend.

Rei groaned, "I still can't believe they're actually going through with this. This is embarrassing."

Jounouchi grinned, "What, afraid Honda's gonna whoop your man's butt, Rei-san?"

That comment earned a wicked glare from the young priestess, and Katsuya narrowly avoided a duel disk upside the head from her. "He is NOT my man!"

"GAH!" Jounouchi yelped, then grumbled irritated, "Jeez, you try and crack a joke, and you nearly lose your head! No respect, no respect I tell ya!"

Sweat-dropping at the quarrelling between the two on the sidelines, Honda shook his head and sighed, then put his game face on and turned his attention back to the duel. "Alright, here goes something!" He yelled, plucking a few cards from his hand, "I throw down four face down cards." Four card images glimmered into life on the playing field between them, then he continued on with the rest of his turn, "Now then, I summon Axe Raider in attack mode!" As he played his card, a tall, well muscled warrior in gold and ruby armor appeared on the playing field, wielding a rather impressive looking axe and staring fiercely at Yuuichirou. (1700/1150) "Since this is the opening round, I can't attack just yet, so I end my turn. Your move, rag top."

"Rag top?" Yuuichirou repeated indignantly while running a hand through his hair to clear his vision, glaring back at Hiroto. "Just for that, I'm not going to go easy on you! My draw!" Looking over Honda's side of the field for a moment, he made his opening draw from his deck, then smirked, apparently liking what he'd been dealt. "I activate the spell card, Tornado! Since you have more than three spell or trap cards on your field, this lets me destroy one of them, and I choose that one!" He pointed to the next to the last one on Honda's left-hand side. A powerful whirlwind spun into a funnel cloud, causing the selected card to rise up on the teen's side, revealing itself to be a trap card called 'Scrap-Iron Scarecrow', before exploding in a cloud of pixilated shards. "Next, I place one card face down, then set a monster in face down defense position before ending my turn. Back to you, punk." Yuuichirou spat, the two cards appearing on his field as his turn came to an end.

"I'll show you who the punk is, you jerk," Hiroto said as he drew his next card, then making his move. "Axe Raider, attack his face down monster! Smashing Axe Head!" The armored warrior yelled out as he charged forward, bringing his weapon crashing down upon the face down card. However, instead of being destroyed, the card flipped up to reveal a mechanically enhanced warrior wielding a samurai sword in robotic hands, managing to drive it back. (200/2000)

Yuuichirou smirked, "Nice try, but your Axe Raider's attack is no match for the defensive ability of my Chamberlain of the Six Samurai, and since it's defense is higher than your monster's attack, you take the difference as damage."

"Six Samurai?" Rei asked as she paid attention to the duel, "… why does that sound familiar?"

"I think I know why," Jounouchi jumped in, a serious look on his face, "Yugi's grandpa mentioned them once, apparently their a set of cards that work off of each other, with some pretty interesting effects when used in combination."

Taking this information in, Rei's eyes widened, "Oh yeah, Ami-chan talked about them a while back while she was researching the different sub categories of the game. In the right hands, they can be downright deadly." Looking towards Hiroto, the dark haired girl felt concern for the young man, "I hope Honda-san knows what he's gotten himself into, I think he's going to be in for a real fight."

Honda glared back at the long haired priest in training, the life point gauge on his duel disk dropping by three hundred points. (LP: 8000 - 300: 7700) "I got nothing else to play right now, so I end my turn."

"Heh, so much for showing me who the punk is, I think we've got that established already," Yuuichirou smirked as he drew his next card, "I play the spell card, Reload. Using it's effect, I can add my hand to my deck and shuffle it, then I get to draw the same number of cards I added to my deck." Once he played the card, he took his deck out of his duel disk and added the other of his hand to it, shuffled it thoroughly, then replaced it in it's slot before drawing three different cards, his confidence seeming to grow as he studied his new hand, then made his next move. "Now I place two cards face down, and summon The Six Samurai - Zanji to the field in attack mode!" As the first two cards appeared face down on the field, a shining yellow seal formed beside Yuuichirou's first monster, and emerging through it came a warrior in yellow and black body armor, wielding a long staff with a golden energy blade on the end of it, modeled after an old naginata. (1800/1300) "Now the next part is simple, since my Zanji is stronger than your Axe Raider, I'm going to have him take him out right now!"

"Not so fast! Reveal trap card, Threatening Roar!" Honda shouted out before Yuuichirou could give the attack order to his monster, causing one of his face down cards to rise up, "Thanks to this card, you don't get to attack this turn, meaning my monster is safe."

Yuuichirou snorted, clearly not impressed, "So it is, at least for now anyway. I end my turn."

"My draw!" Honda declared, drawing his next card from his deck, and his eyes lit up with what he drew. 'Yes!' he thought to himself, smiling confidently, 'Now I can show this guy what my deck can really do.' "Now I summon Junk Synchron in attack mode!" In a flash, a short mechanical man in bronze body armor and a white scarf appeared on the field, taking an offensive stance. (1300/500)

Yuuichirou did his best to keep from laughing, finding Honda's monster to be quite hysterical looking. "How is that little bucket of bolts going to help you? It's attack is way lower than my monster."

"You'll see soon enough, you cocky jerk, because now I play the spell card Level Tuning!" Slipping the card into an open slot, it soon materialized on the field, showing the image of a drill and various other power tools. "Level Tuning lets me reduce the level of all face-up monsters I control by one until the end phase of my turn, and that's all I need to whoop that samurai of yours." As the card took effect, both Junk Synchron and Axe Raider began to glow with a light aura, and Honda smirked before continuing, "Junk Synchron might not look like much, I'll admit, but he's incredibly useful because of one thing: he's a Tuner monster!"

"Honda, you sly devil, you're not running a Synchro deck, are you?" Jounouchi laughed, grinning with great amusement over on the sidelines.

Hiroto smirked and chuckled, giving his best friend the thumbs up, "Yeah, I am. Told you my deck was special."

Looking very much confused, Rei looked back at Katsuya, hoping he might shed some light on things. "This is probably a stupid question, but just what is a Synchro deck, Jounouchi-san?"

Jounouchi thought for a moment for the best way to explain it, then smirked, "Well, it's sort of a different version of a fusion deck, minus the need for cards like Polymerization. You've got the Tuner monsters, which when combined with other monsters, can summon more powerful monsters called Synchro monsters. The key thing though is you have to have monsters who match the level of the Synchro monster, so it can be a bit tricky sometimes."

"So, since he used that Level Tuning card to drop the levels of his monsters by one…" Rei took a second to do the math on her fingers, then looked up, "he's about to summon a level five Synchro monster."

"Bingo, Rei-san," Honda said with a grin, thrusting his hand out to his side of the field, "I sacrifice my Junk Synchron and my Axe Raider in order to Synchro Summon Junk Warrior to the field in attack mode!" As Honda gave the command, Junk Synchron pulled on a cord on the bottom right side of it's chest plate, starting up the motor inside of it's torso. Taking to the air with Axe Raider, the two of them passed through a shining portal of light, only to have another metal plated warrior fly out the other side, this one having lavender and silver armor and a jet engine in its shoulders, wearing the same white scarf that Junk Synchron had worn before and two pairs of steel knuckles on it's robotic hands. (2300/1300) "Now then Junk Warrior, show this guy who's boss, and wipe the floor with Zanji of the Six Samurai!" Giving a nod, the metallic warrior's engine revved to life and he charged forward, rearing it's fist back, intending to take the neon yellow samurai's head off.

"I don't think so!" Yuuichirou said, revealing one of his face down cards, "I activate my trap card, Negate Attack, stopping your junk man and ending your attack phase." As the card took effect, Junk Warrior's steel knuckles stopped just inches before it would've connected with the samurai's face, hitting the shield of energy emitted from the trap card instead.

Honda glared at the long haired young man as Junk Warrior resumed it's place on his side of the field, feeling thoroughly annoyed that he'd been thwarted once again. "Fine then, I end my turn. Your move."

Drawing his next card, Yuuichirou gave a nod, smirking, "I'll give you this, you managed to summon one tough looking monster, but the game's just getting started, because now I'm playing a spell card, Pot of Greed!" In a flash, the familiar and creepy ceramic pot with the weird face, an eerie laughter emanating from inside of it before it shattered, letting the apprentice draw two more cards from it's effect. Looking at what he'd drawn, Yuuichirou smirked before making his move. "Now then, I'll continue things along by summoning Spirit of the Six Samurai in attack mode!" A green and blue seal similar to the one that had appeared when Zanji was summoned formed on the field, glowing with ethereal flames. The light blue flames formed together into the figure of a man, and dark blue armor materialized around the flames, with two golden eyes peering out of the helmet head piece. (500/500)

Rei blinked, looking confused again, "That thing is fierce looking, but won't Honda's monster just plow right through it? It's only got five hundred attack points."

Jounouchi shook his head, his face looking serious, "Nah, I've seen that thing before from an old booster pack I got. It's one of those Union type monsters."

Rei thought about that for a moment, then a light bulb went off in her head, suddenly getting it, "Oh yeah, I remember those things. They can be used just like Equip Spells, right?"

"That's right, Rei-san," Yuuichirou threw in with a smirk, "and that's just what I intend to do. Once per turn, I can treat my Spirit of the Six Samurai just like an equip spell, and attach him to an appropriate monster on the field, and I choose my Zanji, giving him a five hundred point attack and defense boost." The armored spirit suddenly split apart, each piece of it's ghostly form attaching itself to the pike wielding samurai, giving him a nice little power up for his troubles. (1800/1300 + 500/500: 2300/1800) "But I'm not done yet, because now I can activate one of my face down cards, Ultimate Offering!" Finishing his declaration, one of Yuuichirou's face down cards rose up on the field, revealing itself as a trap card. "Thanks to Ultimate Offering, by giving up five hundred life points per monster, I'm allowed to normal summon or set as many more times as I wish. So now, I'll use that effect to-"

"I don't think so!" Honda said, cutting Yuuichirou off mid sentence. "I've got a trap of my own to use, mop top! Reveal trap, Seven Tools of the Bandit!" A card rose up on Hiroto's side of the field as he pointed to it, revealing itself as a trap card, bearing the image of a multi tool pocket knife. "With this, by giving up a thousand life points, I can negate the activation of a trap card and destroy it, and I choose your Ultimate Offering!" (LP: 7700 - 1000: 6700)

Yuuichirou could only glare in annoyance as his Ultimate Offering trap fizzled and exploded, preventing him from summoning another monster to the field. "Damn it," he swore under his breath, glaring back at Hiroto. "No matter, I'll still take down your monster with mine. Six Samurai - Zanji, attack his Junk Warrior!"

"Still no dice! Reveal trap, Sakuretsu Armor!" Honda shouted, revealing his other trap card this time, causing it to rise up on the field. "When one of my opponent's monsters declares an attack , it gets destroyed instantly! So kiss your Zanji goodbye!"

Having been cut off halfway while charging, Zanji glowed with golden energy. However, instead of being destroyed, Yuuichirou's Chamberlain gasped and crackled as well before ultimately exploding into dust.

Looking quite confused, Honda looked at Yuuichirou, wondering what the heck was going on. "Hey, what gives? My trap was supposed to destroy your monster when you attacked, and instead your other monster exploded instead."

"Actually, I can explain that one," Rei spoke up, "according to what I remember Ami-chan telling me, Six Samurai monsters are able to defend one another. If one would be destroyed, you can choose another Six Samurai monster you control to be destroyed instead."

"Bingo, Rei-san!" Yuuichirou exclaimed, smiling brightly. "As diligent with Duel Monsters as you are with your priestess training! Truly my mission is not in vain to protect one so wonderful as you!"

Rei rolled her eyes and sighed, "What a dork."

Ignoring that comment, Yuuichirou's resolve seemed strengthened, grinning brightly. "At any rate though, my turn is over. Back to you, hoodlum."

"I'm not a hoodlum, you jerk!" Honda defended himself, starting to get a bit irritated. 'I never would've guessed he'd be this tricky,' he thought to himself. 'I can't give up though, I said I've become a better duelist, and now it's time for me to prove it.' Looking at his deck, he closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. 'Yugi and Jou always said to trust in your deck, and it won't let you down. Time to see if there's any proof in that.' Reaching to his duel disk, he drew his next card and opened his eyes, only to be surprised by what he saw, apparently having been rewarded for his faith and trust. "Now I'm going to borrow a move you used last turn, and play Pot of Greed!" The creepy pot appeared on Honda's side of the field this time, laughing weirdly before exploding, letting him draw two more cards, looking them over before continuing. "Looks like the odds favor me, because now I play the spell card, Lightning Vortex! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all face up monsters on your field!" The sky above the dueling field darkened for a moment as clouds gathered, bolts of lightning surging through them, and Honda pointed his finger to Yuuichirou's side of the field, "So say sayonara to both of your Samurai monsters!" With a clap of thunder, a white streak shot down from the dark clouds, striking Zanji without fail. The glowing aura of the Spirit of the Six Samurai shattered, and Zanji yelled out painfully before being destroyed as well, much to Yuuichirou's dismay. "And now that your field is cleared, I can have Junk Warrior attack you and your life points directly!" Junk Warrior sprang up from Honda's side of the field, taking a flying leap towards Yuuichirou and thrusting it's steel fist out, causing a sonic blast to assault him and his ears, taking a good sized chunk out of his life points. (LP: 8000 - 2300: 5700) Pleased with the results this turn, Honda grinned, "I end my turn now. Not feeling so high and mighty now, are ya fella?"

Yuuichirou growled, clenching his fist and shouting at Hiroto, "You think you're funny, don't you? Well, funny guy, I'm fighting for honor here, and you're fighting for a cheap laugh. And honor trumps comedy every time!"

Rei groaned, feeling a rather large headache coming on, "Honda, kick Yuuichirou's butt just so I don't have to listen to him spew things like that any longer, please?"

Yuuichirou fell over as Rei shouted her message to his opponent, causing massive sweat drops for everyone else involved. Getting back up to his feet, he took on a calm and cool look, smirking and chuckling. "I hear you say these things, Rei-san, but deep down I know you're really rooting for me with all your heart and soul, and for that, I cannot lose!" Drawing his next card, the shaggy haired young man made his next move, "Since you sent my monsters to the graveyard, I can activate my face down trap, Double-Edged Sword Technique!" Saying this, Yuuichirou's one lone face down card rose up on the field, showing the image of a Six Samurai charging forward with weapon in hand. "Double-Edged Sword Technique allows me to special summon two 'Six Samurai' monsters from my graveyard in face-up attack position, and at the end of my turn, they'll be destroyed, and I take damage equal to both of their attacks. So I special summon my Zanji and my Spirit back to the field." In a flash, both warriors reappeared on Yuuichirou's side of the field, looking ready to strike. (1800/1300) (500/500)

Honda tensed up, not sure what exactly Yuuichirou was planning, "Neither one of those monsters is strong enough to take out my Junk Warrior, and even combined they'd be even. Plus if you used either monster's effect to save the other, you'd end up taking damage from when the other one is destroyed at the end of your turn."

"That's true, but I don't plan letting that happen," Yuuichirou grinned, slipping a card into an open slot in his duel disk's spell and trap zone. "I play the spell card Six Scrolls of the Samurai, and by tributing two face-up 'Six Samurai' monsters, I'm allowed to special summon from my deck one of my best monsters, Great Shogun Shien!" As the spell card appeared on the field, both Six Samurai - Zanji and the Spirit of the Six Samurai were surrounded by several multicolored ancient scrolls, which then exploded in a brilliant red light. Once the light cleared, the two warriors were replaced by another, much more powerful foe. Clad in ornate crimson armor and wielding a glowing red katana, the bearded warrior's eyes glowed red, standing fiercely on Yuuichirou's side of the field. (2500/2400) "I'm not done yet though. Since my Great Shogun Shien was a special summon, I can still normal summon this turn, so I summon my Six Samurai - Irou in attack mode!" Right beside the great shogun, a seal of purple light formed, and a tall warrior clad in black and violet armor stepped through, a metallic visor over his eyes and a rather long katana draped over his shoulder. (1700/1200) "And now, my Great Shogun Shien will take out your Junk Warrior, and then my Irou will hit you with a direct attack! Double Strike of the Six Samurai!" The two samurai warriors nodded their heads and charged forward, Shien striking Junk Warrior across the midsection with his blade, causing him to explode with a metallic screech, while Irou attacked Honda head on, his blade nailing him with a swift strike, knocking the duelist off his feet from the force of it. (LP: 6700 - 200 - 1700: 4800) Yuuichirou grinned, chucking confidently. "I think I've punished you enough for one round, so I end my turn."

Getting back up to his feet, Honda dusted himself off a bit, then drew his next card, "… I place one card face down, and end my turn."

"That's it?" Yuuichirou grinned, "After all that talk, I thought you'd put up more of a fight than that." Drawing his next card, the shaggy haired young man smirked. "Well, I suppose now it's all over but the crying anyway, because now I summon Shien's Footsoldier in attack mode!" A light flashed on the field, and a simian looking warrior wielding a spear in light armor, hopping up beside Shien and screeching at Honda. (700/300) "Since you have no monsters on the field to protect you, all I have to do is attack you directly with all three of my monsters, and this duel will be over! Shien's Footsoldier, attack him directly!" The monkey like warrior screeched and jumped, charging forward with it's short spear in hand.

"Sorry man, but I'm not giving you that chance," Honda threw in, "Reveal trap card! Birthright!" As he gave the command, the face down card Hiroto played last turn rose up on the field, then he continued, "Thanks to Birthright, I'm allowed to special summon one normal monster from my graveyard in face up attack mode."

Yuuichirou laughed, clearly not phased by this in the least. "So what, you're going to bring back your Axe Raider? That thing might stop my Footsoldier and my Irou, by my Great Shogun Shien would make quick work of it. Face it, you're up against the wall, and soon my Six Samurai deck will finish you off."

"Like I said, you won't get the chance," Honda repeated, a smirk of his own forming, "and I'm not bringing back my Axe Raider, because the monster I choose to bring back is my Spiral Serpent!" As he gave the command, Honda's trap card glowed, and the ground beneath their feet began to rumble and quake. A manhole cover in the middle of the road exploded off it's seal, with a blast of water shooting up out of it as the roar of a prehistoric beast echoed through it. Busting through the street where the water jet had blasted through, a massive aquatic creature with blue skin and pinkish fins let out a monstrous roar from it's elongated jaw, standing on two powerful flippered legs, moving it's serpent like neck around as the water rained down on the field, making it's presence well known. (2900/2900) As the simian samurai charged at it, the massive water beast let out a powerful roar, then lunged it's neck forward with it's jaw wide open. The primate barely had time to scream out as Spiral Serpent's powerful jaw chomped down on it, destroying it instantly and nailing Yuuichirou with the difference as damage. (LP: 5700 - 2200: 3500)

Yuuichirou's jaw hit the floor, completely shocked by the arrival of such a powerful monster, finding himself taking a step backwards from it. "H-How? Wh-wha… When the heck did THAT thing end up in your graveyard?" He stammered, trying to get over the shock. Then a sudden realization hit him, and his eyes grew wide as the answer came to him, "You used it last turn, when you discarded for Lightning Vortex! That's when you sent it there!"

"So you were paying attention, very good," Honda smirked, "I knew I didn't have enough for a sacrifice then, so I took a gamble and discarded it for Lightning Vortex's effect. Seems my gamble paid off, if I do say so myself."

Recovering his composure, Yuuichirou plucked his deck out and began to go through it, "You might've done me a lot of collateral damage, but I can still win this. Since you destroyed my Shien's Footsoldier, I can use it's special effect to summon a level three or lower 'Six Samurai' monster from my deck." Finding one he liked, he plucked it out and returned his deck to it's place in his duel disk, then continued with his turn, "Using that effect, I special summon The Six Samurai - Yariza to the field!" A bronze seal formed on the field beside Irou and Shien, and a masked samurai in black and brown armor appeared, wielding a long energy pike. (1000/500) "And since there's another 'Six Samurai' monster on the field with a different name, Yariza can attack you directly!" Giving a grunt, the newly summoned samurai leaped forward, spinning his spear around over his head before slashing Honda with it, knocking out a thousand of his life points instantly. (LP: 4800 - 1000: 3800) Once his samurai returned to his side of the field, the shaggy haired duelist continued, "With that done, I switch my Great Shogun Shien and my Irou to defense mode, and end my turn." Finishing things for that turn, Yuuichirou crossed his arms, watching as his Shien and Irou both knelt down in defensive positions, placing their weapons in front of them as bracers.

Rei yelled out with glee, smiling brightly, "Way to go, Honda! That was an awesome combo! Way to stick it to him!"

Yuuichirou fell over at that, feeling utterly betrayed at this point. "Rei-san, you can't possibly mean that! Tell me you're really rooting for me, I know you are, right? Right?"

Rei snorted, "You made your bed, Yuuichirou, now you have to sleep in it."

Yuuichirou groaned, looking utterly heartbroken, lowering his head, "But Rei-san…"

'Geez, even I feel bad for him now, and he's the one who started all of this mess,' Honda sweatdropped at the scene playing out in front of him, then sighed. Drawing his next card, the spiked haired teen examined it for a moment, then his smirk grew into a full blown grin, "Looks like fate is shining down on me again, because now I summon a new monster, The Calculator, in attack mode!" Slapping the card down on his duel disk, Hiroto's side of the field flashed for a moment. A mechanical being with a number pad for a chest and a digital read out for a head appeared beside his Spiral Serpent, it's hose-like arms and robotic hands clenching with electricity, doing it's best job to look fierce. (?/0)

Now Yuuichirou was really confused, staring blankly at the new addition to Honda's field. "Well that was pointless. What can that thing do? It's got no attack or defense points."

Just then, Jounouchi started laughing, looking extremely amused by this. "Oh this is going to be awesome. Honda's about to own that jerk."

Rei blinked, apparently not getting the joke, "What do you mean, Jounouchi?"

The blonde haired duelist grinned, glancing back at Rei before answering her, "Just watch, and you'll see what I mean."

Not quite sure what to expect, Rei turned her attention back to the duel, waiting intently to see how things would turn out.

Waiting for the sideline chatter to finish, Honda continued. "The Calculator might not be that great for defense, but as an offensive monster, it can be a real powerhouse. It gains three hundred attack points times the combined levels of all monsters on my side of the field, and if my math is right, that number right now comes to ten, so you know what that means, right?"

Yuuichirou's eyes grew wide again, not taking even a moment to figure out the answer, "It gets three thousand attack points?"

"Bingo!" Honda said with a smile. The Calculator began to glow and surge with power, the digital screen on it's face tallying up the numbers as it's attack points grew. (10 x 300: 3000/0) "Now then, Calculator, blast his Six Samurai - Yariza back to the Feudal Era! Calculating Discharge!" The electronic fighter raised two robotic fingers to its 'face', and a surge of electricity charged up its arm, concentrating there for a few moments, then it thrusted its hand outward, releasing a powerful blast from the tips which rocketed across the field, striking the masked samurai dead on, causing him to yell out as electricity wracked his entire body before finally being destroyed.

Yuuichirou didn't escape harm either, as the excess energy of the attack struck him too, sending a powerful surge through his body in comical fashion, blasting away another large chunk of his life points. (LP: 3500 - 2000: 1500)

Honda smirked, feeling like he might actually be able to pull this off, then continuing his turn, "As shocking as that must've been for you, I'm still not done yet. Spiral Serpent, attack his Great Shogun Shien! Spiral Wave!" As Honda gave the order, the powerful sea serpent reared it's head back, charging a powerful aquatic attack in it's massive jaw, then unleashing a devastating water jet as it lurched forward, the surge of water spiraling towards the crimson armored shogun.

Yuuichirou clenched his teeth and threw out his hand, "I activate Great Shogun Shien's special effect! If it would be destroyed in battle, I can destroy another "Six Samurai" monster instead. So I choose my Irou to take the attack instead!" Lifting his head up, Irou leaped to his feet and dashed in front of Shien, using it's sword to block the attack and protect him as best he could. This would prove futile though, and the blast ultimately overcame him, and the violet samurai yelled out through the watery blast, exploding into pixilated shards, but succeeding in protecting the powerful shogun. "Thanks to Irou's sacrifice, my Great Shogun Shien lives to see another day." Yuuichirou said, seeing the duel was clearly not going the way he had expected.

Hiroto grinned, feeling a great thrill over having pulled off such an awesome attack, wondering if this was how it felt every time Jounouchi and Yugi dueled. "Since I've got nothing else to play at the moment, I end my turn." Looking over at Yuuichirou, the spiked haired duelist smiled, "I have to say man, you're a hell of a duelist, this is the most fun I've had in a long time."

Yuuichirou blinked, looking back at Honda questioningly, "Oh sure, now that you're winning, you wish to rub it in my face. Go ahead, kick a man when he's down."

Honda blinked as well, shaking his head, "No way man, I'm serious. This has been a total blast. That Six Samurai deck of yours is crazy awesome. I've been busting my butt trying to make a comeback. Heck, who knows, you might still lick me yet." He smiled, feeling incredibly pumped for some reason, not really sure why to be honest.

Yuuichirou's expression softened a bit, finding himself wondering if Honda really was mocking him, or if he was actually serious. "… now that you mention it, this has been a rather good duel," he admitted with reluctance, a slight smile forming on his stubbly face as well. "I'll admit it, you're not as much of a punk as I thought you were. You've managed to come back from what looked like certain defeat, and even turned the tables back into your favor. I'm actually impressed." Drawing his next card, Yuuichirou looked at it, then chuckled softly, tilting his head to the side. "… and it looks like the odds are still favoring you, my friend. I end my turn. Good duel… Honda-san." He said with a smile.

Honda smiled and nodded, "Yeah man, you too." Drawing his last card, he looked at it for a moment, then grinned, "Time to finish this. I play the spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive, to bring a warrior monster back from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, and I choose my Junk Synchron." The card ejected itself from the Graveyard, and Honda added it to his hand, then continued his turn. "And now that I have him back, I'll summon him to the field once more in attack mode!" Once more in that duel, the plucky little orange armored metal man appeared on the field, floating in the air beside The Calculator and Spiral Serpent. (1300/500) "And now, I'll give up my Junk Synchron and my Calculator to bring back another old friend, and Synchro Summon my Junk Warrior to the field one more time!" For the second time in the duel, Junk Synchron revved up it's motor and took to the air, with The Calculator in tow, and in a flash of blue light, Junk Warrior landed on the field with it's arms crossed, taking a step back and moving it's right arm around with it's left pulled back beside it, it's white scarf blowing epically in the wind. (2300/1300) "Spiral Serpent, attack his Great Shogun Shien! Spiral Wave!" The great water beast reared it's head back once more, and unleashed it's powerful aqua blast at the defending shogun. The great warrior groaned as he held his ground as long as he could, finally buckling under the pressure and exploding brilliantly. Having a clear field, Honda grinned, knowing it was all over now. "Let's do this again sometime man, it's been a real blast," he said, giving Yuuichirou the thumbs up.

Yuuichirou nodded his head and smiled back, returning the gesture in kind, "Count on it my friend. You've proven yourself an honorable duelist, I look forward to challenging you again."

Honda smiled, then thrusted his hand out, giving the final attack order. "Junk Warrior! Attack him directly and finish this! Flying Junk Kick!" Giving a nod, the armored metal hero took to the air with a flying leap and the air of it's jet engine, then executed a flying kick towards Yuuichirou with all of it's might, taking out the rest of his life points upon impact.

To his credit, Yuuichirou didn't flinch when the attack came at him, bracing himself for it and taking it head on, looking rather epic standing there once the smoke cleared and the game was over. (LP: 1500 - 2300: 0)

Once the holograms had cleared the field, Jounouchi and Rei rushed to Honda's side, wishing to celebrate with the winning duelist. "Dude, Honda, that was amazing! I didn't know you had it in you!" Jounouchi grinned, slapping his best friend hard on the back with pride

Rei nodded, smiling brightly, "Yeah, I didn't think you'd be able to come back after that, but the way you pulled out such awesome combinations was just incredible. Way to go!"

Honda rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, laughing a bit. "I just got lucky I guess. I trusted my deck, and it didn't let me down." Looking across the dueling field to Yuuichirou, the spiked haired duelist walked over to the defeated temple trainee, offering a hand to him. "I meant what I said back there man. Good game, and incredible duel."

Yuuichirou nodded and grabbed his hand, accepting the handshake and smirking. "You weren't bad either man. Sorry for hassling you and your friend earlier. I should've trusted Rei-san's judgment when it comes to the people she chooses to hang out with."

At that moment, Rei smacked Yuuichirou upside the head with his wooden sword, which was nearly forgotten from before the duel started. "I could've told you that, you bonehead."

Yuuichirou yelped and held his head, tears comically forming in his pained eyes as he turned to Rei, "Rei-san! Forgive me for ever doubting you! I swear it'll never happen again! I promise!" He got down on his hands and knees, pleading with her for forgiveness, causing both Honda and Jounouchi to sweatdrop profusely as the camera panned to the skyline, bringing this chapter to a merciful end.

-o-o-o-

Oi! That took forever to write… well, more like a month and a half, but still. Once again, I deeply apologize for taking so long to get this out to everyone. So many things have happened in the last year, including me moving twice and changing jobs three times! X.x But now I'm back to full speed, and chapter 12 will be out soon. It's already half written, I just need to start the duel, and then the rest should roll out smoothly after that. Thank you everyone for sticking with me, and to the new readers, hang on to your seats, because next chapter will be nothing short of epic: Yugi is finally going to duel, and you'll never believe who his opponent will be!

Until then, take care, and please keep reading and reviewing!  
~JayManney4Life


	12. Chapter 12

Another chapter up, and it didn't take a year! I'm so happy I could scream! =D Thanks for putting up with me, everyone, it feels good to be back in the swing of things!

And now once again, it's Review Time!

Hotgirlow - Ask and ye shall receive!

nami - Hope this was soon enough for ya, next chapter should be here quicker, hopefully. As for when the Yugi gang will find out that the girls are the Sailor Senshi, not gonna happen just yet, a few more things are gonna happen between now and then, but it shouldn't be too long.

James Birdsong - Cool name, bro. =D Anywho, glad ya liked it, hope you'll like the next part as well!

Kochou-hime - Oh don't worry, there's gonna be some epic shadow magic coming, I'm just building up to it. And I'm glad you enjoyed Chad/Yuuichirou's time in the spotlight, I thought I gave him a pretty good outing, if I do say so myself.

mwaetht - Thank you, and is this soon enough for you? =D

Jlargent - Yeah, you'd think with as often as his little brother ends up as bait for either him or Yugi and company, he'd hire him a bodyguard or a nanny or something. Hell, keep him teethered with one of those child leashes/harnesses or something.

LunarStar Princess Krystal - Yus, I broke the curse! I've lived to write another day! It's really good to be back, and great to see a few familiar faces as well. As for how Yuuichirou/Chad did the big leap, well, he HAS been getting Grandpa Hino's training, right? Maybe he just has mad ninja apprentice skills or something. XD Oh yes, as for who Yugi will be dueling... well, you'll just have to read on and see for yourself. =P

Gallantmon of the Hazard - Actually, the fact that Honda and Yusei share the same VA in the english dub is exactly why I gave him the tuner deck. It just amused the hell out of me, plus I thought the guy deserved some love. As for my grammar and the 'sacrifice' to 'tuning up' thing, I've never really dueled much with synchro monsters, so bit of new territory for me there.

Nene Sword - -hugs- thanks love =D

Aceina - Fixed the problem with the quotation marks and such, the word processor I was checking everything in didn't like them for some reason. I haven't read much of the SM manga, even though I've downloaded it, so yeah. And Kaiba is still Kaiba, the very fact I have him showing interest in a girl and not Yugi is a miracle in and of itself, so him admitting to believing in magic might have to wait until the next miracle becomes available. =P

As promised, this chapter will be the one where Yugi finally duels, and as for who his opponent will be, well… I can't give it away just yet, can I? =P You'll just have to read on and see for yourselves. Enjoy!

-o-o-o-

Leaping up onto the podium, a white cat with a golden crescent moon on it's forehead cleared it's throat, tapping the microphone lightly with it's paw.

"Test, test, one, two, three, four... is this thing on?" Not waiting long for a response, lunar cat sighed and smiled. "Greetings everyone, I'm Artemis, guardian cat of Sailor Venus and one of the advisers of the Sailor Senshi as a whole. My dear Luna was out here a few chapters back, and now I guess I'm up to bat now. It's pretty nice getting asked to do something as important as this, but since I know most of you prefer to get on with the story, I'll be brief. So, here goes!"

Clearing his throat once again, as well as taking a deep breath, Artemis looked straight at the camera before speaking up once more. "Jay Manney has not, does not, and more than likely never will own either Sailor Moon or Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the various spin-offs or sequels or what have you, nor any of the manga, merchandise, games, etc, etc. The guy works a crappy job in retail, sits around at home drawing or writing, or engages in watching professional wrestling, anime, and super sentai and kamen rider shows. He owns nothing of real value, to be honest, so please don't try and sue him, he's just doing this for grins and kicks at this point, and god only knows he's poor enough without having a lawsuit on his hands. Thank you."

"You know, you didn't have to call me 'poor', you know?" Jay says, looking a bit annoyed as he popped up behind the podium.

"You still live at home, drive a crappy truck, and work for minimum wage in retail. I'd say that qualifies as poor," Artemis replied. "Plus, I've barely gotten any screen time in this little epic of yours. When are Minako and myself going to get a chapter together?"

Jay sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose with frustration showing. "I'm working on that. Believe it or not, setting up a scenario for you two is proving harder than I thought, but don't worry, you'll both get your chance to shine soon enough."

"Unless you get writer's block again, or just get too lazy to update," the white cat rolled his eyes.

"You know, I COULD have you neutered," the author smirked wickedly, causing Artemis to gulp at the thought of losing his fuzzy dice.

"Okay, okay, you win," he cried, sounding slightly pained, "but darn it, we better be in the next chapter."

"Alright, sheesh," Jay said as he waved his hands, "I promise you two will have your duel soon. Either next chapter or the following chapter, I swear!"

Artemis snorted, "We better." Hopping down off the podium, the lunar feline padded off to the back, grumbling with frustration.

Standing there with his special guest gone, Jay blinked for a moment, then slowly turned his head to the camera blankly, before pasting on a big happy face. "... and now, on with the show! ... I hope!"

-o-o-o-

As Honda and company celebrated his first victory, on the other side of town yet another faithful and a bit unexpected encounter was just about to occur.

Yugi and Anzu had been more or less just hanging out since the start of the tournament, simply going around and observing some of the various other duels taking place throughout the city, and mostly just been trying to have a good time.

For Yugi, it was a chance to finally just have some fun once again without worrying as though the very fate of the world was at stake. Granted, he always seemed to enjoy himself even when the stakes were high, but it was nice to know he could take a breather for once now that the pressure was no longer there.

Anzu, on the other hand, was enjoying the day for much different reasons. For her, this was an opportunity to spend some much sought after alone time with her two favorite people in the whole world. To be honest, she did occasionally feel conflicted when it came to her relationship with both Yugi and the spirit sharing a body with him, even to the point where she felt like she was using Yugi just to see the pharaoh. However, she knew deep down that her feelings were not limited to just one or the other, and that in her heart she truly cared deeply for the both of them.

Smiling a bit, she walked ahead of Yugi for a moment, putting both hands behind her head. "So Yugi, do you think you'll get much competition in the finals this year?" She asked, trying to break the silence for a bit, "I mean, besides you, Kaiba, and maybe Jounouchi, do you think there's really anyone good out there anymore?"

Yugi grinned and laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh I'm sure there will be plenty of people trying to beat me this year, if or when I get there," he said. "Who knows, maybe someone will actually beat me before then. I'm not invincible you know."

"Oh please Yugi, don't be so modest, of course you'll get there!" Anzu stated with a great deal of confidence. "I mean, it's you! You're the King of Games, you beat Pegasus, Marik, and even that Dartz guy. Considering how many times you and the pharaoh have beaten the odds and come out on top each time, someone would have to be an incredibly amazingly gifted duelist to take you out before the finals."

"Um, excuse me," a light voice spoke up from behind, causing both Anzu and Yugi to turn around, drawing their attention to the source. A lovely young woman smiled back at them, with long, silky bluish hair framing her face, the sweetest set of baby blue eyes shining with a gentle warmth. All of this, wrapped up nicely in a petite little package hugged by a soft yellow sundress. Blushing a rosy shade of pink, the woman gave a nervous smile before addressing them again. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, but by chance, are you Yugi Mutou?" She asked politely.

Blushing some himself, Yugi rubbed the back of his neck a bit before answering her, giving a smile of his own, "Yes, I'm Yugi. Is there something I can do for you, miss..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, how rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself yet," she said apologetically, then proceeded to give a polite bow, smiling brightly back at them. "My name is Ikuko, Ikuko Tsukino. It's a real pleasure to meet you, Yugi."

At the mention of the woman's last name, Anzu's eyes grew large for a moment, having made a sudden connection in her head. "Tsukino, you said?" she asked inquisitively, "by any chance, you wouldn't be related to an Usagi Tsukino, would you?"

Ikuko blinked for a moment, then a big smile formed on her face, "Oh, are you both friends of my Usagi?"

"Yes actually," Yugi replied with a grin, "we met a while back at my grandpa's game shop. Are you her big sister or something?"

Ikuko giggled and blushed slightly, her smile growing brighter at the tricolored teen's question. "That's very sweet of you to say, but actually I'm a tiny bit older than that. You see, Usagi's my daughter, and I'm her mother."

"Her mother?" Yugi and Anzu said in unison, finding it hard to believe, much to Ikuko's apparent amusement.

"That's right, Usagi's my little girl," she replied, still giggling some from their reactions, "I must admit though, I never thought she'd end up friends with a real live celebrity like you, Yugi."

Now it was Yugi's turn to feel a bit embarrassed, blushing some and rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, "Gee Mrs. Tsukino, I never really considered myself a celebrity, to be honest. I know I'm a bit famous around here, but really, I'm just a normal guy who's just really good when it comes to games."

"Ikuko is fine, Yugi, no need to be so formal on my account. After all, I'd like to think we're all friends here, right?" Ikuko asked happily, then continued on once more. "Well, Usagi and my son Shingo talk about you all the time, especially when they're both practicing the Duel Monsters card game," Ikuko smiled, "if only you could get my Usagi as interested in her school work as she is in that, I'd have to call you a miracle worker."

That got a laugh out of all three of them, taking a moment or two for each of them to catch their breaths, and Yugi was first to speak up again, rubbing his eyes while still having a big smile on his face. "So Ikuko, what exactly did you want to ask me?"

Her giggling subsiding, Ikuko blinked and thought back for a moment before things finally came back to her. "Oh yes, now I remember," she said, clearing her throat. "I know this might seem a bit out of the blue, but... could I possibly challenge you to a duel, Yugi?" As she asked this, the older woman held up a shiny new duel disk on her arm, which had almost gone unnoticed until that point surprisingly.

Once again, the two friends found themselves completely caught off guard, taken back by Ikuko's sudden request. Looking a little stunned, Anzu was the first to speak up again, "Did I hear you correctly, Ikuko? Are you actually going to challenge Yugi?"

Ikuko nodded her head, still smiling brightly, "If he'll let me, yes. I know I'm still just a beginner, but with this big tournament going on, I figured why not take a chance? I mean, you only get to live once, and how many housewives can say they'll challenged a world champion duelist before?" She asked, giggling softly as she took out her deck and shuffled it for a moment. "So what do you say Yugi? Will you accept my challenge, Mr. King of Games?"

Smiling confidently, Yugi took his deck out and shuffled it as well, arming his duel disk once he was finished. "Sure, why not, this could be a lot of fun. I accept your challenge, Ikuko," he replied happily.

Ikuko beamed delightedly, arming her duel disk as well. "Wonderful, I'm really going to enjoy this. I promise to give it my very best shot, Yugi!"

"Believe me Ikuko, if you're going to be dueling against Yugi, you'll need everything you've got," Anzu said from the sidelines, both excited and curious to see how this truly unique match up would end up playing out.

-o-o-o-

"Mr. Kaiba, sir," one of the female tech aides called up from her terminal, "there's another duel in progress."

"Give me a reason to be interested," Seto said as he walked down the aisle between the different work stations, his eyes focusing on the main monitor on the video wall of the massive computer room.

"Actually Mr. Kaiba, I can give you two of them," the young woman said as she quickly went over the incoming transmission data, "one of the participants listed is Yugi Mutou, while the other duelist is registered under the last name 'Tsukino'."

This news brought an amused look to the teenage CEO's normally emotionless face. "So, that Usagi girl's actually taking a shot at the top dog, is she? Bring it up on the big screen, this might be good for a laugh or two."

"Actually sir," the young aide spoke up again, "according to the data, Usagi Tsukino is not one of the listed participants."

"Is it the brother then?" Seto inquired, his look of momentary amusement seeming to fade almost instantly.

"Negative sir. Shingou Tsukino was eliminated from the tournament just prior to his sister's first duel of the tournament," she replied as her fingers raced over the keyboard in front of her, her eyes never seeming to leave the screen. "I've run a search to see who exactly the duel disk is registered to, and according to the search results, it belongs to an Ikuko Tsukino.. oh!" She blinked for a moment, seemingly startled by something she'd seen on her screen, making sure she was reading her information correctly. "According to this sir, it appears the woman who's dueling Yugi Mutou at the moment.. is Usagi's mother."

Even Kaiba himself was taken by surprise by this latest development, clearly having not expected an outcome such as this.

"Talk about the family that duels together," Mokuba quipped, watching the giant monitor beside his big brother as the live feed of the duel began playing. "Still that's pretty gutsy of her, trying to take on a world class duelist like Yugi all by herself. I wonder if she's going to be any good."

"Well, we're about to find that out for ourselves, aren't we Mokuba?" Seto remarked, crossing his arms and keeping his eyes on the screen, his amused look from earlier slowly return to his face once more as the show got underway.

-o-o-o-

As the two duelists prepared to face off, completely unaware of their remote captive audience, Anzu stood off to the side observing things, glancing back at her tricolored friend. "Are you sure you want to go through with this Yugi?" she asked, looking over at the opposition for a moment before turning back to him, "I mean, no offense, but this almost seems unfair."

"Yeah, I know," Yugi grinned, taking a stance opposite Ikuko in the middle of the small plaza, "I mean, I'm going into a duel against someone I've never faced before, and a deck I've never seen. Anything could happen."

The brunette sweatdropped at her friend's response, rubbing the back of her neck, "Yugi, that's not what I mean and you know it."

"It's alright dear," Ikuko smiled, taking her place as well across from her younger spiky haired opponent, "I wouldn't have asked for this duel if I didn't think I could handle it." She then looked over at Yugi, beaming with confidence and not looking the least bit nervous. "No need to hold back on my account, Yugi. If I can handle all the crazy things my daughter does on a regular basis, then I think I can go toe to toe with Mr. 'King of Games' without flinching, so let's have some fun!"

Nodding in agreement, Yugi smiled happily. "Alright then Ikuko, if you're really ready, then let's do this!"

"DUEL!" The two of them shouted in unison, and the match soon got underway.

-

Yugi: 8000

Ikuko: 8000

-

Drawing his first five cards, Yugi smiled over to the elder blunette before giving a courteous bow, "Since you were the one who asked for the duel in the first place, I think it's only right that you should have the first move, so 'Ladies First'."

"Why thank you Yugi, that's very sweet of you," Ikuko giggled softly and blushed, drawing her sixth card before making her first move. "Now bear with me, I've only played the game a few times, and that's mostly been with my kids," she stated as she looked over her hand, not quite sure yet what she should do first. "Hmm.. okay, I think I've got it," she stated after a few moments, then pulled a card from her hand and getting the ball rolling. " think I'll get things started by… playing a monster card!" Ikuko declared, smiling before taking a quick glance over the cards in her hand, before finding one that agreed with her. "Oh yes, this one will do fine," she said, plucking it from her hand and continuing with her move, "I'll summon White Magician Pikeru in attack mode!" Putting the card into play on her duel disk, a loon soon shimmered on the field, and a small girl with long pink hair and green eyes appeared, clothed in a white robe with red stripes and a hat that looked like a yellow puffball with goat horns, wielding a long wooden staff with a shiny pearl on the end of it. (1200/0) The elder duelist just squealed when the petite sorceress appeared, beaming happily. "Oh my stars, she's even cuter in person than she was on the card!" She exclaimed, looking absolutely giddy over it.

Laughing a bit, Yugi smiled as he watched her gush over her monster. "Yeah, she is pretty cute," he said in agreement, "do you play a spell caster deck like Usagi does, Ikuko?" The spiky haired teen asked.

Ikuko smiled and shook her head, "No, I just thought she'd be a cute addition to my deck, and so far I haven't been disappointed." Trying to decide what to do next, she looked at her cards again. "Hmm, since it's my first turn, I can't attack just yet, right Yugi?" She asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Yugi responded with a smile, "since you went first, you won't be able to attack until your next turn. However, you can still play or set spells and traps if you want to."

"Oh that's right," Ikuko said, having remembered that as well, "Usagi and Shingo kept having to remind me about that when I was practicing with them." Resuming her turn, the blue haired housewife looked at her cards again. "Hmm, I guess I'll set some cards then," she said, plucking two from her hand and inserting them into two of the open spell and trap slots, causing them to appear on the field as well. "I set two cards face down… and I guess I end my turn!" She declared, smiling brightly. "Did I do alright for my first turn, Yugi?"

The tri colored duelist smiled and nodded, "You're doing just fine Ikuko. Just have fun with it, and if you're not sure about anything, don't hesitate to ask. After all, it's just a game."

Giving a nod as well, Ikuko smiled, "Thank you Yugi, you're very kind. I can't wait to see what you do on your turn."

'Hey, Yugi,' a voice spoke up in the back of the teen duelist's mind, 'do you want me to take over for this duel?'

Yugi just smiled, shaking his head softly. 'I don't think that will be necessary, Yami, I think I can handle this one myself.'

Yami just chuckled softly, smiling back, 'Then enjoy yourself, aibou. I'll be rooting for you if you need me,' the spirit replied before fading back into the puzzle, getting a good seat for the show still to come.

Drawing his sixth card, Yugi proceeded with his first move, smiling as he looked over his hand. "Following your lead, I think I'll start this round by summoning a monster as well," Yugi said, plucking a card from his hand before continuing, "I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior in attack mode!" Putting the card into play, a pink colored metallic being appeared on the field. Large steel wings protruded from it's back, adorned with the letters 'N' and 'S' on each one respectively, as well as a large 'S' on it's rounded chest, and a giant horseshoe style magnet around it's neck. (1500/1800)

Ikuko looked on in awe as Yugi summoned his first monster, smiling brightly, "Oh wow, that one is cute too, Yugi! It looks like one of the robot toys my son Shingo collects, and it's rather cute looking too!"

"It might be cute, but it's also tough as well," Yugi said with a grin, "and now, I'll show you just how tough it is. Gamma the Magnet Warrior, attack her White Magician Pikeru!" As Yugi gave the word, Gamma spread it's metallic wings and took flight, zooming across the field while rearing back one of it's steel fists.

Ikuko tried to think fast, not wanting to lose her monster so soon after bringing it out to play. 'I've gotta do something, but what?' She thought to herself, looking around for a moment until she remembered her two face down cards. "Oh right, I remember now! I can activate one of my face down cards now!" Reacting quickly, she pointed to the one on her left, calling out for it. "Reveal trap card, Waboku!" Flipping up just in time, the trap card quickly activated just as Gamma's attack would have struck the pint sized sorceress, causing her to be surrounded by an invisible wall of magical energy, cutting off the metal monster's strike and saving her in the process. Giving a sigh of relief, Ikuko took a deep breath and continued. "Thanks to Waboku, monsters I control can't be destroyed in battle this turn, and likewise I don't take any battle damage either."

As Gamma returned to his side of the field, Yugi smiled, not seeming too disappointed by it. "That was pretty good, Ikuko. You know how to handle your face down cards as well. I was afraid you might be a bit too much of a novice for a minute, but you seem to be doing alright so far." Looking over his hand again, Yugi thought about what to do next. 'She blocked my attack with one trap, and she's still got another face down on the field, and there's no telling what it could be either,' he thought to himself, 'I guess for now, I'll just have to wait it out and see what happens. This might actually be fun after all.' Plucking another card from his hand, the spiky haired teen continued with his round. "I'll set one card face down, and end my turn. Back to you, Ikuko!"

Smiling at his compliments, Ikuko nodded her head before drawing her next card, looking at it before adding it to her hand. "Well, I did say it was still a bit of a learning experience for me, but I'd like to think I have the basics down at least," she commented, studying her hand briefly, then making her next move. "Since it's my standby phase, my Pikeru's special effect kicks in. For every monster I have on my side of the field, I gain 400 life points!" As she said this, the petite sorceress lifted up her wooden rod and gave a light cry, smiling brightly as the pearl on her end shimmered to life. A wave of magical energy showered down upon Ikuko, making the Tsukino matriarch smile warmly as her monster's effect took place, giving her a small life boost. (LP: 8000 + 400: 8400) "Now, what to do for this turn," she thought out loud, tapping her chin lightly as she looked back over her hand again, then smiled and plucked a card from it, "I think I'll summon another monster now, so now I play Jerry Beans Man in attack mode!" Placing the card on her duel disk, a strange looking being appeared on the field, a brave looking little round fellow seemingly made entirely out of jelly beans, holding a cute looking broad sword and a bean shaped shield as well. (1750/0) "Next, I play a spell card from my hand, Graceful Dice!" Removing the card from her hand, Ikuko inserted it into her duel disk, and a strange looking fairy in a winged top hat appeared, holding a comically large blue die.

"Oh wow, haven't seen anyone use a Graceful Dice card in a while," Yugi commented with a smile, "my friend Jounouchi used to use it regularly in his deck. It's a rather good card if you're lucky enough to roll well."

Ikuko nodded and smiled, "I thought it might be useful, so I thought I'd give it a try. Now then, according to the card's text, once the die is rolled, whatever number it lands on, that number is multiplied by one hundred, and then added to the attack and defense points of the monsters on my side of the field." Looking back at the little floating fairy, the indigo haired woman smiled confidently. "Well, here goes nothing. Let it roll, Graceful Dice!" The little guy gave a delighted squeal before tossing his die in the air, and everyone watched intently as the large cube tumbled before coming to rest on the field, showing the four dots side up. "Oh wonderful! It landed on four, so both of my monsters get a 400 point attack and defense boost!" Even as she said this, both her Pikeru and her Jerry Beans Man began to glow, seeming energized by the enhancement to their attack and defense stats. (1200/0 + 400/400: 1600/400) (1750/0 + 400/400: 2150/400) "And now that my monster's attack is higher than that of your Gamma, I'll have my Pikeru attack it, which will then leave you wide open for a direct attack from my Jerry Beans Man!" Ikuko declared, and the pink haired sorceress raised up her staff, giving a light cry as the orb on the end of it shimmered to life, pointing it towards Gamma the Magnet Warrior and firing off a powerful blast of magical energy, roaring towards metallic titan.

Yugi grinned, "Sounds like a solid plan, Ikuko. Shame it's not going to work. Reveal Trap Card! Negate Attack!" Waving his hand towards his face-down card, the trap soon revealed itself, cutting off the petite magical girl's attack at the last second. "Thanks to Negate Attack, your Pikeru's attack is stopped, and your battle phase automatically comes to an end," the tricolored teen pointed out, watching the blast fizzle out before vanishing completely, leaving his Gamma in one piece.

"Oh poo," Ikuko frowned, pondering what to do next. "I guess I'll end my turn by placing another card face down," she said, inserting another card into her spell and trap zone before turning control over to Yugi, watching as the attack of her two monsters returned to normal now that Graceful Dice was no longer in effect. (1600/400 - 400/400: 1200/0) (2150/400 - 400/400: 1750/0)

In the back of Yugi's mind, the pharaoh had been observing things silently until now, carefully studying the back and forth game between the two duelists, genuinely surprised at how things were turning out so far. 'If it hadn't been for that trap of yours, Aibou, Mrs. Tsukino would have taken a considerable bite out of your life points. Fairly impressive for such a novice duelist,' he mentally commented.

'I know, I'm impressed as well,' Yugi replied, a mixture of astonishment and excitement in his tone. It had been so long since he'd dueled someone in a tournament who wasn't hard set on trying to eliminate him or steal some all powerful plot device, that getting a challenge out of a relatively normal duelist, even a self proclaimed beginner was enough to put a smile on the young man's face. 'I'll have to be careful not to underestimate her, I think she might be better at this than she realizes.' Drawing his next card, the young king of games grinned, looking forward to seeing how this duel would progress.

To be continued...

-o-o-o-

I'm gonna get lynched for cutting this off here, but then again, the show and manga have been known to break off at stranger points, so I feel at least a tiny bit justified. I had meant to have this chapter finished much sooner, but real life kind of got in the way again. Funny thing is, except for the duel, I had the bulk of this chapter written out two months ago, but I just hadn't had time to focus on the game aspect. At any rate, rather than keep y'all waiting another 8-12 months, I'd rather give you a nice sized part one and finish off the rest of it in what will be part two in Chapter 13. Until then, read and review, and let me know what you all think! Bet none of you ever saw this coming!  
~JayManney4Life


	13. Chapter 13

Greetings everyone! Guess who's back? Yes, it's me! After another hiatus, I'm back with chapter thirteen of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters", my big 'Sailor Moon/Yu-Gi-Oh!' crossover fic.

Now, I know what you're all thinking: "My god, he actually updated this?" And you would not be unjustified by this, my track record is... well let's face it, it sucks. Regardless, I'm back again, and after eleven months (yes, you read that correct, eleven months), I've returned to deal with the... well, looking back on it, kind of lackluster cliffhanger I left you on. I didn't want to cut it off there honestly, but truthfully, I felt I owed you guys, my die hard fans, at least something to tide you over until I could give it the full attention it truly deserves. To be honest, I even considered yanking that chapter down and either redoing it with the rest of the duel added to it or simply scrapping it and doing a different one all together, but honestly I thought that since I had the nerve to put it up like that in the first place, it was only right that I finish what I started, so here we are, and hopefully I made the right decision with that..

I've said it time and time again: I'm an artist first and a writer second... or third, depending on my priority list at the time (I'm, admittedly, very easily distracted, and with work, the internet, friends, family, the occasional anime convention and even a death in the family, I've been pulled all over the place, hence why this has stayed on the back burner for so long), and it doesn't come as easily to me as it does for some people. Sure, I get the ideas, I can picture scenes and such, but getting them all assembled neatly in a pretty little package and then writing it out in Word is, frankly, a bitch (excuse my swearing, and there goes my K-rating, heh...) Also, when I started this duel, I ended up breaking one of my cardinal rules when it comes to this fic, and that was getting the duel going without having proper decks assembled for either characters. Yugi is easy enough as you could figure, what with there being at least six or seven different ones for him to choose from, not to mention having friends willing to help me get one together for him as well (thanks to you by the way AJ, you've been a life saver on more than one occasion for me, you too Zaccy for suggesting themes and such, as well as letting me bounce ideas off of you), but as you can figure, I really had nothing for Ikuko. I didn't want to just give her one of the starter or theme decks, since it didn't really go with the idea I had for her having just basically thrown together a deck from cards she'd gotten from her kids, so after all this time I finally managed to get one assembled for her that I thought would work for her, and that was not easy in the least, I'll tell you what.

Anyways, once more, thank you all for being patient and sticking it out with me this long. I'm as anxious to see how this all ends as much as you all are, and I'm the one writing it, so read, enjoy, and review! I love reviews! Freaking brings me a ton of joy to see how much everyone enjoys this, and at the end of the day, that's pretty much what this is all about: it's something I do for fun, for my own amusement as well as the amusement of others. As long as I'm still enjoying this, then it might take me a couple more years to do so, but I'll keep going as long as I can.

At any rate, I think I've rambled long enough, but I just felt I needed to give my piece on things.

And now, the reviews!

smfan - Hehehe, hope you don't get in trouble doing that. Even an awesome story like mine isn't worth risking your job for. And Anzu/Téa isn't THAT bad. Granted, she's never exactly been my favorite, but I really do think she means well and cares greatly for both Yugi and the Pharaoh. Now, whether or not Usagi ends up with one of them or someone else, or even stays with Mamoru... well, you'll just have to keep reading and see what happens, heheh.

Umiki - That makes me feel pretty good, knowing that the people who've been reading are as understanding as you are. I've been working on this chapter off and on the last couple months, trying to will myself to keep motivated for it, even when it just hasn't been there. I'll see this story through til the very end, or at least as long as people are still interested in reading it.

As far as the whole thing with having Ikuko duel, indeed, no one else that I've seen has been crazy enough to try something like that, and that alone makes it worth keeping her in there even when I considered scrapping the last chapter and starting over with it. I have a clear idea of what I want for the end of this chapter, and I promise I'll do my best to not disappoint. Also, thank you for the praise, I've been trying hard to keep the two worlds as in character as possible and trying my best to mix them accordingly. Hasn't always been easy, but it's truly become a labor of love for me, and again, I'm glad so many people have appreciated all the hard work and dedication I've put into this.

As far as Mamoru goes... yes, I admit, I've been guilty of acting like he doesn't exist. To be honest, I'm still on the fence of what to do with him. Never exactly been my favorite either, and I kind of blame that on a lot of fanfics I've read over the years, some of which painted him as a real bastard, if you'll excuse my language there, and well, it's kind of stuck. I know he's better than that, and it all depends on who is writing for him, but again, haven't got a clear idea of what I want to do with him, if anything. Got one or two thoughts in my head, but just haven't decided one way or another. If you've got any suggestions, or anyone else for that matter, I've love to hear them. I -will- try and mention him soon, at the very least.

Faroush - I consider that praise of the highest order! Thank you very much! -grin- And yes, the fact I do actually play out the duels is both a blessing and a curse, in that while it's extremely helpful and allows me a way to make each chapter very exciting, it's also quite time consuming, especially when I was still using mainly the cards I own. Now it's a little bit easier since I started using the various versions of YVD (Yu-Gi-Oh! Virtual Dueling), since it lets me do it all digitally and gives me access to a broader selection of cards, it still takes time and effort, and as messed up as my schedule is in real life most of the time, it's hard to simply get the will to do it sometimes. But I will press on somehow, and continue to work hard to make this story continue and make it fun to read as well!

dr-fan/mai-lover - ... okay, I really have no idea what you said this time

angel313 - Will do! Glad you enjoy it!

Azelf1717 - Hmm, Kenji-papa dueling as well? That might make for an interesting omake chapter, might post it separately if I can ever think of something for it, heheheheh. And Chibi-Usa is fun too, not sure if she'll appear in this story or if I'll ever get that SM/GX story off the ground like I said I might. You never know what's going to happen, so stay tuned!

Aceina - Thanks, glad you liked it. I've kicked around the idea of Haruka and Michiru and even Hotaru making an appearance, not sure if I'll do it though, haven't quite decided yet. Still plenty of duels to be had, so who knows? And Ikuko is a fake? Oh my, wouldn't that be something! I just might save that idea for another occasion!

Shiou Bakara - Thank you, glad you think so. It was just a silly idea me and my friend had, and we liked it so much that I decided to go through with it. Glad to see everyone is enjoying it too, hope you all like the conclusion to this battle!

And that's all this time. Keep on reviewing and keep on giving me ideas, and I'll keep on responding, and I might even use an idea or two if I can! Enjoy!

-o-o-o-

Once more the podium came into view, as a glowing ball of light floated around the stage area. After a moment or two, the light ball flew behind the podium, and a pillar of sand materialized, taking a moment before becoming solid, and turning several shades of both light and dark red, gaining the form of what could only be described as a red oni (demon) holding a big red menacing looking sword. Glancing around for a moment, the horny oni blinked, then struck a pose with it's arms stretched out, "Ore, sanjou!"

After a moment of silence, the demon blinked again, and visibly sweat dropped, before looking quite upset. "What the hell? This isn't the battlefield? I'm supposed to be climaxing from start to finish against some freaky monsters and Imagin, not standing here in the middle of an empty room!" Crossing his arms indignantly, the big red monster huffed in annoyance, until a piece of paper on the podium caught his attention, "Eh? What's this?" Reaching out with one hand, he snatched it up and shook it out, holding it up in front of his face as he attempted to read it, giving a few 'hmms' and 'mhmms' as he got the gist of things. ".. I see... so let me see if I've got this right... I, Momotaros, the one who should be the REAL star of this story, am here to tell you that this jerk named JayManney4Life, does not, has not, nor likely will ever own 'Sailor Moon' or 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', and that you should not sue him, for he's just a poor guy who writes this crap for fun and not for profit... oh yes, and he does not own Kamen Rider Den-O either. If he did, he'd have found some way to get it brought stateside so people didn't have to download fan subtitled episodes of it off the internet and could instead get properly subbed DVDs and the like, maybe even a deal with a network here, and you'd get to see all of my movies in theaters here too."

Standing there for another moment, Momotaros shrugged, crumpled the paper up into a ball, and tossed it over his shoulder. "Well, now that that crap is out of the way, it's time for the REAL story to begin! Momotaros' Epic Journey to Becoming the Duel King Imagin!" A big logo with all of those words on it sprang up behind him, and the red devil Imagin was suddenly wearing a duel disk and a fake wig in Yugi's hairstyle. "Now I'll not only be the main hero of Den-O, but I'll also be the main hero of this story too! I am just too cool for words!"

About that time, Jay sighed, popping up behind the ego inflated Imagin, and proceeded to put him in a full nelson. "Sorry about this folks, he tends to get a bit carried away. Enjoy the new chapter!"

"Hey! What's the big deal! Lemme go, writer-jerk! Don't make me use my super finishing move on you! I wasn't done talking!" Momotaros kicked and screamed, getting dragged off stage by the trenchcoat clad author.

-o-o-o-

Yugi: 8000

Ikuko: 8400

All eyes were on the makeshift battlefield, a small crowd steadily gathering to watch with great interest as Yugi and Ikuko continued to face off, with the elder woman's turn having come to an end and the younger duelist' just beginning. With his side outnumbered two monsters to one and her life points being slightly higher than his own, things were certainly getting off to an interesting start for the tri-colored haired youth.

"My move!" Yugi declared, drawing his next card and examining it for a moment. 'This ought to keep her busy for a while, and give me time to get a game plan put together,' he thought with a smile. "I set a monster in face down defense mode, and switch my Gamma the Magnet Warrior to Defense Mode." As Yugi set his card down on his duel disk, a larger version appeared on the field in the same position, and the pink hued magnetic warrior knelt down next to it, crossing both of it's arms across it's chest. (1500/1800) His defenses covered for the moment, Yugi glanced back at his opponent and smiled, gesturing to her. "I think that'll do for the moment, your move Ikuko!"

Watching faithfully behind the shorter duelist, Anzu couldn't help but admire Yugi as the duel progressed, especially with how he was encouraging the still green mother of their new friend. As one of the few people who'd been with him since the beginning of his duelist career, she was able to tell when it was him dueling, and when it was the 'other' him in control, so it actually came as a bit of a surprise when the brown haired teen noticed that the pharaoh, or simply Yami to their select group of friends, hadn't appeared in his place like he normally did. 'It feels almost novel these days, watching Yugi actually duel personally,' she thought with a smile. Granted, it wasn't like Yami did all the work in that relationship, Yugi was still an expert duelist in his own right, easily a match for the other boy who he shared a body with. Even so, she could tell he was definitely having a good time without the threat of some lunatic running around trying to take over the world, and simply playing the game for the sake of playing it.

With the turn switching back to her, the crowd shifted their attention back to the challenger as Ikuko drew her next card, smiling and feeling quite excited over all of this. The young looking mother of two hadn't been this anxious since Shingo had won his first junior competition, and yet now here she was, tackling the biggest name in Duel Monsters personally, praying she could make her family proud in her first major outing as a duelist. "Since it's my standby phase again, my Pikeru's effect kicks in once more, giving my life points another boost," she pointed out as she glanced down at the counter on her duel disk as the childlike sorceress happily waved her rod again, watching it go up by an additional four hundred points. (LP: 8400 + 400: 8800). Taking a moment to look over her opponent's field, Ikuko carefully considered her next move, not wanting to jump in and do something incredibly reckless if she could avoid it. 'Hmm, let's see... Yugi currently has two monsters in defense mode on his field, and only one of them I know what it is exactly,' the elder bluenette thought, 'neither my Pikeru nor my Jerry Beans Man have enough attack points to take out his Gamma, so the better bet would be to go against his face down monster... unless that's what he wants me to do, it might be a trap. Either a monster with really high defense points or one with some sort of flip effect... or it could be neither and I'm over thinking this.' Giving a sigh, Ikuko still wasn't sure what to do, but knew she had to make a decision regardless, lest things end up at a stand still. "I think I'm going to just skip my battle phase this turn and end it here," she said, letting control shift back to Yugi, and hoping she made a wise decision.

'Hmm, she didn't take the bait, I'm actually surprised by that,' Yami spoke up in the back of Yugi's head, continuing to merely observe for the moment while Yugi handled the duel himself on this one.

'I guess you can't really blame her for being cautious, though. I mean, if I were still a novice and decided to try going up against us, I'd be trying to be careful too,' Yugi replied, smiling a bit as mentally plotted out his own course of action. 'Have to work on getting her Pikeru out of the picture to stop her life points from going up higher, but she's got two face downs, so not sure what'll be waiting for me if I try that.' Drawing his next card, the young duel king looked at what he'd gotten, a confident smirk forming out of the corner of his mouth, 'Well, if she's not going to come after me just yet, then I guess I should bring the fight to her.'

"I think it's time to liven things up a bit! I summon King's Knight in attack mode!" Yugi called out, playing the card he'd drawn that turn. A tall, powerful looking bearded warrior in regal looking armor appeared, wielding a large golden ornate shield in his left hand, and a long broadsword in his right one as a dark purple cape billowed behind him. (1600/1400) "Next, I'll equip my King's Knight with a spell from my hand, Legendary Sword!" Inserting the card into an open slot, Yugi watched as his King's Knight's sword began to glow, growing larger and broader and shimmering with a brilliant light, giving the royal warrior a boost in power as well. (1600/1400 + 300/300: 1900/1700) "Thanks to that, my King's Knight gains a three hundred attack and defense point boost, making it more than capable of taking out either of your monsters now," he said as he smiled, looking and feeling like he was getting just as much of an energy boost as his monster was. "Finally, I'll switch my Gamma back over to attack mode as well," Yugi said as he continued on, the rose colored metal warrior standing back up once more at it's master's command. "Now then, King's Knight, Attack Ikuko's Jerry Beans Man!" At the younger duelist's command, the regal warrior gripped his sword and shield firmly, charging into battle and raising his blade high to deliver the killing blow.

Feeling a bit nervous now, Ikuko quickly considered what to do, knowing she wasn't going to get out of this one in one piece. "I activate my quick-play spell, Mirage Tube!" She called out, causing the card on her left side to rise up on the field. "Since you're attacking one of my monsters, this card causes you to take one thousand points damage because of it!" She knew it wouldn't save her Jerry Beans Man, but if nothing else she at least made sure it wasn't going out without a bang. As King's Knight cut through the bean shaped warrior, both duelists took a hit to their life points, with Yugi getting the worst of it it seemed. (Ikuko: 8800 - 150: 8650) (Yugi: 8000 - 1000: 7000)

'She's definitely making me work for this, isn't she?' Yugi mused as his knight returned to his side of the field, not too broken up about the counter attack Ikuko had managed to pull off on his life points.

'Indeed, I think we may have underestimated her a bit,' Yami added, appearing beside his near mirror image partner, 'are you sure you still don't want me to step in Yugi?'

Yugi shook his head softly, smirking a bit before giving a mental reply, 'Not just yet. Ikuko might've surprised me, but I'm just getting started. Let's see how much further this goes before I decide to tag out with you, okay Yami?'

'As you wish Yugi,' the ancient Egyptian spirit said with a nod, fading back out once more as the duel continued on.

Blinking some, Ikuko looked back over at Yugi, who hadn't said anything since his monster had destroyed hers, feeling slightly concerned. "Are you okay Yugi, you're awfully quiet. Did you want to stop the duel?"

Shaking his head, Yugi waved her off with a smile, "That's okay Ikuko, I was just thinking for a moment. I'm still good to go if you are."

The elder maternal duelist nodded her head, looking a bit relieved at that, "Alright then, I was just worried there for a second, but if you say you're okay, then I'm fine with going on as well."

The younger duelist nodded his head with a grin, "Good then, because I'm not quite done yet with my turn. Since my King's Knight took out your Jerry Beans Man, I think it's time my Gamma got in his licks as well," he declared, pointing across to her side of the field at the petit pink haired sorceress. "Go Gamma the Magnet Warrior, take down Ikuko's White Magician Pikeru!" Once more the metallic monster took flight, stretching out it's steel hand and exerting it's energy, waves of magnetic force being generated from it's outstretched palm, hitting the little girl head on and making her cry out before exploding in a cloud of pixels.

Ikuko raised the arm that her duel disk was on, trying to keep her hair from blowing out of place from the excess shockwaves, her life points getting a chunk taken out as well. (LP: 8650 - 300: 8350) "Aww, now both of my monsters are gone," Ikuko whined a bit, looking saddened by this.

"Sorry about that, but that's what happens in these duels after all," Yugi said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head a bit. "Anyways, that's all I've got for the moment, so I'll end my turn now."

With a sigh, Ikuko drew her next card and looked at it, then at the cards in her hand, looking like she didn't have a lot of options at the moment. "I'll just set a monster face down in defense mode, and end my turn." Setting it down on her duel disk, the card shimmered to life on her right hand side, letting control of the duel shift back over to the younger, more experienced duelist.

Drawing his next card, Yugi felt slightly bad after seeing how much Ikuko had deflated when her monsters had gotten wiped out, reminding him a bit of when Usagi had been coming to the game shop for lessons from him and his grandfather, having seen her make similar faces and expressions. 'You can definitely tell they're related,' he chuckled softly before looking at his hand and proceeding with his turn. "I'll place a card face down on the field," he started to say, slipping it into another empty slot before it appeared on the field with the other ones he had in play already, "and now I'll have my King's Knight attack your defense monster!"

Once more, the regal knight raised his sword with both hands, running forward towards Ikuko's side of the field, and brought his blade down on the down turned card. Only this time, instead of being destroyed, the card flipped over in a brilliant light, and the roar of a large wild cat was heard, as King's Knight was forced to reel back as a glowing bluish white hued tiger took a swipe at him with it's claws, leaving a trail of vapor behind it as it settled in front of it's mistress, and making Yugi take some damage for his troubles. (0/2100) (Yugi: 7000 - 200: 6800)

Ikuko giggled a bit, her perky attitude returning quickly. "Sorry to burst your bubble Yugi, but maybe that run in with my Soul Tiger will teach you not to go attacking innocent looking face-down cards," she teased, waving a finger at him to emphasis her point.

"I'll be sure to remember that next time," Yugi said as King's Knight returned to his side, looking down at his hand and considering what to do now. 'Her Soul Tiger has a strong defense, and Gamma isn't strong enough to beat it. On the other hand, it has zero attack points, so she can't use it against me either, so that's good at least,' the younger duelist thought, 'so for the moment at least, we're at a stale mate.' "I'll end my turn here," Yugi said, letting control of the duel shift back to Ikuko while he waited to see what she'd do next.

-o-o-o-

As the friendly battle between Ikuko and the King of Games waged onward, unaware of what was taking place, her oldest and youngest offspring were making their way together in that direction.

"... Usagi..." Shingo started to say, having been thinking long and hard since the end of her duel against the girl who'd beaten him.

"Yes Shingo?" Usagi asked, looking down at her kid brother, noticing the hesitation in his voice. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he said, having a bit of a hard time getting the words out the way he wanted. Taking a deep breath, he glanced downward at the sidewalk, still keeping up with her. "... I just... I just wanted to, well..."

"Hmm?" The blonde teen put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled gently. "... if it's about earlier, then don't worry about it. I'm your big sister, after all. When you're in trouble, I'm supposed to help you, no matter what." Reaching into her pocket, she plucked out the card he'd lost earlier, his prized Super Vehicroid, and held it out to him. "The rules say you can't give cards to another duelist during the tournament, but since you're no longer in the tournament, I don't think it applies, so I'm giving this back to you," she said.

Looking started, the brown haired boy reached out, grasping his prized fusion monster, then looked back up at his big sister. "... th-thank you... big sister..."

Usagi smiled, and put an arm around his shoulders, "You're welcome, little brother."

Caught up in their little family moment, the two siblings almost didn't notice the increasing number of people gathering up ahead of them. Once they finally did take notice, they both ran up to join the growing crowd, which was now buzzing as a string of cheers rose up from the center.

"Is another duel going on?" Usagi inquired, trying to poke her head up over the top, all the while trying to squeeze herself and Shingo through the constantly shifting mass of humanity.

"Not just another duel," one of the spectators said, trying to snap a picture with his camera phone, "Yugi's having his first duel of the tournament against a newbie duelist, and they're actually holding their own against him!"

This was definitely big news as far as Usagi was concerned. She'd actually been hoping to have a chance to see Yugi duel at some point while the tournament was going on, really wanting to see how the young dueling master was when he actually got serious. Sure, she'd played against him a few times while she'd been practicing regularly over at his grandpa's shop, but she'd always sort of gotten the impression that he'd been holding back on her, mostly to be nice since she had still been a beginner. But now, this was different. This was the big time, this was Battle City II, and she was quite ready to prove she was more than ready to hang with the big boys, including Yugi.

'This is why getting to see him duel someone seriously is real important,' Usagi thought to herself, 'not only will it be quite the show, but it'll also give me a chance to see what I'll really be up against if... no, when it comes to be time for me to duel against him.'

"Usagi! Look up there!" Shingo shouted, tugging on his big sister's arm urgently, trying to get her attention while she was caught up in her own thoughts.

"What?" Usagi blinked, lifting her head up once Shingo had her attention, and glancing in the direction he'd been pointing towards so urgently. A video monitor was mounted to the outside of one of the larger business buildings, which was currently streaming the video feed of the duel in progress. On the one side was the picture from Yugi's side of the field, which got several rounds of cheers from several people in the crowded streets, However, on the other half of the video screen was the feed of the opponent's side. Seeing the woman dueling against Yugi, it took the blonde haired teen's brain a few moments to fully register what exactly was going on in front of her. "Huh... if I didn't know better, I'd swear that was mama dueling out there," Usagi said, scratching the back of her head as she watched the live video.

"Um, Usagi, that's because it IS mama dueling," Shingo pointed out to her.

Blinking again, Usagi found herself doing a double take, looking up at the monitor once again. Sure enough, on the second pass, the screen displayed the names of both of the competitors, and right there, big as life, were the words 'IKUKO TSUKINO' right next to 'YUGI MUTOU'.

"Oh my god! It IS mama!" Usagi exclaimed, feeling a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Told you so," Shingo quipped, only to yelp as his big sister grabbed his arm before taking off, trying to get through the crowd once again, fully intent on seeing this for herself.

Finally pushing their way through the still growing crowd of spectators, Usagi and Shingo made it to the front of the sidelines, just in time to see Yugi's attack bounce off of their mother's face down monster, revealing the eerie glow of her Soul Tiger as the famous King of Games took the difference as battle damage, much to the surprise of both of the two siblings.

"Wow!" Shingo exclaimed, "Mom just deflected one of Yugi's attacks!"

"I know!" Usagi said, "And from the look of their life points… she's winning so far!"

"Did you know she had a deck?" Shingo asked, looking up at his big sister.

"Nuh uh," Usagi replied, shaking her head, "I didn't even know she'd gotten a duel disk, let alone had a deck of her own. This is nuts!"

"What do you think we should do? Maybe she doesn't know who she's up against," Shingo said.

"Not sure, but we should probably at least let her know we're here," Usagi said.

Nodding his head in agreement, Shingo moved up next to Usagi, and the brother and sister duo both took a deep breath before shouting out loud, "MOM!"

Anzu looked startled as the duo appeared, wincing some as they yelled out right beside her, "Wow, what a set of pipes on those two," she said, wiggling a finger in her ear, feeling like she'd momentarily gone deaf.

As expected. the sudden outburst from the sidelines managed to get the attention of both duelists involved, as Yugi and Ikuko turned and blinked when they saw where the shouting was coming from.

"Usagi, Shingo?" Ikuko blinked, then smiled brightly and waved at her two children, "Hi kids! Did you come to cheer me on?" She asked, looking quite happy to see the two of them there.

"Mom? Why are you out there? Don't you know who that is?" Usagi called out, still trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing in front of her, "That's Yugi! He's the number one duelist out there!"

"Oh I know! I just thought it'd be fun to challenge him, and he agreed to it. I'm having a real great time too!" The mother of the Tsukino family proclaimed.

"It's fine Usagi, your mom's actually doing pretty good so far," Yugi called out, smiling a bit.

Usagi didn't know what to say, looking out at her mother and her new friend going at it, "This is nuts, who'd have thought our mom would be going up against Yugi?"

"Well, stranger stuff has happened," Shingo chimed in, "I'm just not sure who to root for. I mean, Yugi's awesome, but it's also mom out there. I mean... what if she actually wins?"

Usagi thought about her brother's question for a moment, the very thought of their mom actually knocking off Yugi seemed ludicrous, but looking at the scores at the moment, it definitely seemed like anything could happen. "Who knows what's going to happen, honestly?," she said, then smiled brightly, "All I know is, there's only one thing we can do right now."

"What's that?" Shingo asked.

"Cheer mama on as hard as we can!" Usagi proclaimed, cupping her hands together around her mouth before calling out again, "Go mama! You can do it! I know you can lick Yugi!"

Shingo sweatdropped, but nodded with a smile before joining in as well with his sister's cheering. "Go mom! Show everyone here what you've got!"

Not wishing to be left out, Anzu smiled, starting to call out her support for Yugi, having a feeling things were really going to get good now. "Go Yugi!"

Hearing the sounds of the impromptu cheering section, Yugi smiled back at Ikuko. "Looks like you've got some big support there," he said.

Ikuko blushed and nodded, smiling brightly, "Sounds like we both do. In that case, I definitely think we should try our best not to let them down." Getting back into things, Ikuko straightened up and drew her next card, then her infectious smile grew even wider when she saw what she'd gotten. 'And it looks like I won't be disappointing them anytime soon,' she thought before moving on and making her move. "Here I go!" she called out, "I summon Gyaku-Gire Panda in attack mode!" Playing the card she'd drawn, the mother of two watched as her field lit up once more, and a towering panda bear rose up, standing on it's rear legs and letting out an angry sounding growl, snarling a bit and extending it's sharply clawed front paws. (800/1600)

Blinking a bit at the monster their mother had brought out, Usagi tilted her head, looking a bit confused. "That thing looks awfully scary, but it's stats are rather weak compared to what's on Yugi's field. I wonder why she summoned it," she said, feeling a little confused.

"My guess is she's either going to use something for it, or it's got a special effect," Shingo suggested, which got a nod out of Usagi, considering that for a moment.

Ikuko smiled, "I admit, my big teddy here is quite fierce, but his attack isn't strong enough by itself, which is where it's effect comes in to compensate for that." Suddenly, a red aura began to glow around the irate looking panda bear, muscles pumping up as it growled deeply within it's chest. (800/1600 + 500 x 3: 2300/1600). "For every monster on my opponent's side of the field, Gyaku-Gire Panda gains 500 attack points, and since you have three at the moment, that gives it a full 1500 point boost, bringing it up to 2300!" Taking a quick look over Yugi's side of the field, Ikuko briefly pondered what her next course of action should be. 'Hmm, I could attack his Gamma, seeing how it's the weakest of his monsters, which would let me do more damage to his life points, but if I do that, then my Panda's attack would go down, and it'd be weaker than his King's Knight. There's also his face down monster, but the same thing applies, plus there's the chance it could have a flip effect too.' Considering all of this, Ikuko knew she only had one really good option, and decided to go ahead and make her move. "Now then, Gyaku-Gire Panda, attack Yugi's King's Knight!"

Yelling at the top of it's lungs, the extremely cross panda barreled forward across the battlefield before lunging out, swiping furiously at the regal knight with it's razor sharp claws and slicing him to ribbons, causing him to explode into pixels as Yugi took the difference to his life points. (LP: 6800 - 400: 6400) Returning to her side of the field victorious, Gyaku-Gire Panda snorted a bit, glowing again as the loss of one of Yugi's monsters caused it's attack points to drop back down some. (2300/1600 - 500: 1800/1600) "Yay! I took out another one! This is really getting fun!" Ikuko exclaimed, feeling very pleased with herself, "Sadly, that's all I really have at the moment, so I'll end my turn now."

'It looks like she's definitely getting the hang of things, aibou," Yami spoke up within his partner's mind as control of the duel switched back to Yugi, and the teenaged duelist couldn't help but nod.

'Indeed, and I imagine having both of her kids here to cheer her on is probably getting her really motivated too,' Yugi answered, smiling softly. 'I actually feel a bit conflicted. Part of me wants her to win because of that, yet I don't want to look like I'm going easy on her just because of Usagi and her brother.'

'It's not often you're faced off with a friendly opponent, and one who's close to someone you're also friends with,' the pharaoh chuckled, 'it's understandable that you want them do to well, but you also don't want to lose either. Just do your best Yugi, and give her as much of your determination as she's giving you.'

'You're right. We both said we just wanted to have fun with this, and I won't disappoint her,' Yugi agreed, coming out of his thoughts once more. "That's a pretty impressive monster, Ikuko, but I'm not finished just yet, I've still got plenty of cards in my deck, and I think I'm just about ready to turn this around. My move!" Drawing his next card, Yugi smiled when he saw what he'd managed to get before continuing on with his turn. "One card can make all the difference, and let me show you how. I play the spell card, Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three more cards from my deck, and then I discard two from my hand." Once again, Yugi drew from his hand until he'd drawn a full three, then looked over his hand before picking out two and sending them to the graveyard. "Now I get to have a bit of fun. One of the cards I discarded to the graveyard for Graceful Charity's effect was an effect monster, Archfiend of Gilfer, and now that it's in the graveyard, it's special effect kicks in. I can bring it back from the graveyard and equip it to any monster on the field, and that selected monster loses 500 attack points," Yugi pointed out with a grin, "so I choose to equip my Archfiend to your Gyaku-Gire Panda!"

Ikuko gasped when her side of the field lit up, only to have a rather monstrous looking winged demon creature appear, wrapping it's arms and legs around the manic looking panda. (2300/1600 - 500: 1800/1600). "That's rather effective, but you've still got a problem, since my Panda is still stronger than both of your monsters," she said.

"True, but I'm about to fix that too," Yugi replied, "because now, since it was added to my hand via a card effect, I can special summon Watapon to the field from my hand," he said, before playing the monster card from his hand. In a flash, a little pink puff ball of a monster appeared, with two big shiny blue eyes and two dangling puff balls on the end of it's antennae. (200/300) "Finally, I'm going to sacrifice my Gamma the Magnet Warrior and my Watapon in order to summon a much stronger monster, my old friend Buster Blader!" With this declaration, both of the two monsters that Yugi named suddenly glowed bright gold and vanished from the field, only to be replaced by a tall, gold and royal blue armored knight with a massive sword, glowing eyes shining beneath a helmet that covered their head completely, raising the blade and holding it tight with both hands, ready to strike down anything that got in it's way. (2600/2300).

"Oh my!" Ikuko said, staring across the field at the powerful looking warrior, "... that's... so cool looking!" She said, feeling a bit overwhelmed, even as her own monster's attack points dipped again from the reduced number of monsters on Yugi's field, as well as the reduction put on it by the Archfiend equipped to it. (1800/1600 - 500: 1300/1600).

Yugi laughed a bit, "Yeah, Buster Blader is pretty cool looking, and strong too, he's pulled me out of almost as many scrapes as my Dark Magician has. Hopefully I'll be able to show you him later too if the duel lasts long enough."

"Oh really? I'd love to see that," Ikuko smiled, getting quite excited despite the disadvantage she was in right now.

"Well, I'll try my best to deliver if I can," Yugi grinned before moving on, "Now then, Buster Blader, attack Ikuko's Gyaku-Gire Panda!" Giving a swift nod, Buster Blader charged across the field, lifting his blade high in the air before bringing it down upon the entangled bear's hide, slicing him and Archfiend of Gilfer straight down the middle, causing them to explode once his blade had cleared them completely, and Ikuko had to shield herself as best she could from the impact, losing a large chunk of her life points in the process. (LP: 8350 - 1300: 7050)

"Wow, Yugi wasn't kidding," Shingo said as he and Usagi continued to observe the duel from their place in the crowd, "all it took was him getting Graceful Charity, and he was able combo that into getting Buster Blader, and now he's knocked Mom's life points almost down to where his are."

Usagi nodded her head in agreement, stunned by it as well, "Well, he's not the Duel King for no reason. Still, I think Mama can still recover from it depending on what she draws in her next turn. Yugi's tough, but he's not invincible, and just like he said, one card can make all the difference."

"That's true," the tan haired young boy replied, still feeling quite excited. "I still can't believe we're actually seeing this. Did you ever think in a million years that Mom would be trying something like this?"

"Well, you know what they say, always expect the unexpected, but this is definitely far into the unexpected," the blonde teen said before going back to cheering their mother on, with her little brother quickly joining in.

Anzu smiled, having been listening to the whole conversation, 'I don't think even Ishizu could've seen this coming, but it's definitely been exciting to watch.'

Smiling some, and satisfied with the fact he'd begun to finally make some headway, Yugi continued on with the rest of his turn. "I think this is as good of a time as any to end my turn, so I'll do just that. Back to you, Ikuko. Hope you're still enjoying the duel so far," he said, letting control slip back over to her once more.

"Oh yes, definitely. That was an incredible move on your part, Yugi," the elder duelist smiled, not looking too phased this time around as she'd been the last turn. 'He really IS as good as everyone says he is. I guess I'll just have to try even harder,' she thought before drawing her next card, hoping her deck would be just as supportive as her kids were being to her. "Alright then, I'll set this monster face down, and end my turn." Setting the card like she said, a larger version of it appeared face down on the field beside where her Soul Tiger was as the elder duelist ended her turn, giving a soft sigh.

Drawing his next card, Yugi considered his options briefly as he surveyed the field in front of him and the cards in his hand. 'Okay, I can either attack her Soul Tiger with Buster Blader, that would be a sure thing there, or I could go after the face down monster she just played,' he thought, mulling over it for a moment. 'Not sure what she has under there, and it could be trouble if I attack it right away. On the other hand, if I don't, it could be a flip effect monster, and she could be waiting to use it next turn.' Coming to a decision, the younger duelist took a deep breath before continuing on with his turn. "I'll also set a monster face down in defense mode," he said, removing a card from his hand and setting it into play, much like Ikuko had done the previous turn, "and now, Buster Blader, go forth and attack Ikuko's Soul Tiger! Destructive Sword Flash!" On his master's orders, the powerful armored knight raised his blade once again, charging into battle with the ghostly spectral big cat, and slicing through him with barely any resistance and destroying it, but doing no damage to her life points since it had been in defense mode. "I end my turn," Yugi said, watching his Buster Blader return to his side of the field, hoping he'd made the smarter choice on this exchange.

Saddened by the loss of her tiger, Ikuko did her best not to dwell on it for very long, drawing her next card once control shifted back to her side. Taking a look at what she ended up with this time, she looked a bit surprised. 'Oh, this one might help a lot,' she thought, smiling as she considered her hand and what she had on the field, 'oh yes, this could really help.'

'She's plotting something,' Yami thought, looking at Ikuko alongside Yugi, and the tricolored teen nodded in agreement.

'Indeed, she seemed disappointed when we went after her Soul Tiger instead of her face down, and now she seems to have gotten something good up her sleeve,' Yugi responded inside his head, 'I wonder what she has in store for us this turn.'

Neither the pharaoh's spirit nor his host would have long to wait for that answer, as Ikuko smiled and made her move. "You might've gotten ride of my big pussy cat, but that's alright, I still have other friends in here to help me, and here comes one of them. I summon Inaba White Rabbit in attack mode!" Playing the card quickly, she watched as her field lit up once again, this time with some strange metallic device, looking like an ornate metallic potted plant appearing before her. As the light cleared, an odd mist began to rise up from inside the 'pot' base, manifesting around the top of the rod in the center, taking the appearance of a ghostly pink hued bunny rabbit. (700/500)

'Now there's a blast from the past,' Yugi thought once more, 'haven't seen that card since our encounter with Noah, oddly enough at the last Battle City Tournament.'

'Yes, I remember he gave us a bit of trouble with it,' Yami nodded, remembering that particular encounter all too well, and not at all fondly, 'still, it's a useful card, and I get the feeling Ikuko knows that,' Looking across the field once again, Yami once more let his eyes fall on Ikuko's face down monster, the gears in his mind turning with every moment. 'I have a feeling she's trying to bait us, Yugi with Inaba's effect, so that we'll go after her face down monster next turn.'

'You might be right,' Yugi responded, waiting for Ikuko to continue on with her move. Yami's idea did hold merit, and it was a smart course of action on her part if it was true, but for the moment all he could do was wait and watch how things unfolded.

"Now then, my White Rabbit has a special effect," Ikuko started to say, "at the end of the turn it was summoned, it returns to my hand. However, while it's on the field, I'm able to attack my opponent's life points directly with it, so I think I'll do just that." Pointing across to Yugi's playing field, the mother of two declared her attack confidently, "Inaba White Rabbit, attack Yugi's life points directly!" Eyes glowing white for a moment, the ghostly looking rabbit rose up from it's perch and vanished, only to reappear in front of the shorter duelist, delivering a kick that passed right through him, taking out a small chunk of his life points with it. (LP: 6400 - 700: 5700) Watching her little bunny return to it's perch, Ikuko smiled happily, "Good job my little rabbit. Always did like rabbits and bunnies, probably why I named Usagi after one. They're cute, but they're tough too when they have to be, just like my little rabbit of the moon," she giggled, thinking of the play on words with her daughter's name, which got Usagi to blush a bit from the sidelines. "However, that's all I really have for this turn, so I'll end it here." Letting her turn end, Ikuko watched as Inaba White Rabbit vanished from her field, the card being returned to her hand as per it's effect, letting control shift back to Yugi once again.

Drawing his next card, Yugi looks at it briefly before making his move. "I'll set a monster in defense mode," he said, setting a card down, watching it appear on the field before finishing, "and have Buster Blader attack your face down monster!" Giving the command, Yugi watched as the dragon slaying swordsman charged forward into battle, bringing his great sword down upon the unknown card on his older opponent's side of the field. As the ornate blade connected, there was a bright flash of light, followed by what sounded like rubber stretching and rebounding, knocking the swordsman back several steps. Instead of being slashed in half, the monster Ikuko had played earlier on was revealed to be a pinkish white amorphous blob, with a cartoonish looking cute face with rosy red cheeks that was turned upside down, and two big white eyes with two large round black pupils staring back up at the deflected knight. (300/500) Stunned by this turn of events, Yugi could only watch as his life points took a hit in retaliation, wondering what exactly had just taken place. (LP: 5700 - 1000: 4700).

Ikuko squealed happily, delighted that her little plan had actually worked, "Yay! You went for it! I'm so happy!" She giggled, then smiled back at her fellow duelist, deciding to explain things. "Your Buster Blader attacked my Marshmallon, and since it was face down in defense mode, it's special effect kicked in, and you took a thousand points of damage for it. Plus, my little pink buddy also has the added advantage of not being able to be destroyed in battle, so he's not going anywhere anytime soon. What do you think, not bad, huh?" She asked, feeling quite proud of herself at the moment. Not only did she have a seemingly unbreakable defense at the moment, but when the next turn rolled around, she'd be able to summon her White Rabbit again, and the fun would continue on. If she was lucky, and things went well, who knows? 'At this rate, I might actually win!' She thought with stars in her eyes, thinking of how proud her family would be of her if she managed such a feat.

Anzu looked on from the sidelines as the crowd was divided, one side cheering for Yugi whenever he pulled off an excellent move, while the other cheered on the newcomer in Ikuko, who was definitely turning heads as she managed to give the King of Games a run for his money, chipping down his life points little by little. 'I can't believe she's doing this well,' the brown haired teen thought, even as she watched her two kids supporting her as well. 'I mean, I know anything can happen in this game, but still, for her first duel, this is unbelievable. I know Yugi's come back from much worse than this, but still, this might actually get close.'

"You're doing well Ikuko," Yugi said, his smile returning to his face, feeling like he was getting quite the challenge out of her, "no matter what the outcome of this duel, I think you'll definitely have something to be proud of." Not having anything further to do or say that round, he looked to her once again, "With that said, I end my turn."

"Thank you Yugi, that really means a lot to me coming from you," Ikuko smiled, drawing her next card. "Since it's my turn again, I get to summon my Inaba White Rabbit to the field once more," she said, playing the card from her hand yet again, watching as the rabbit and it's base reappeared again on the field. (700/500) "Now, once again, thanks to my White Rabbit's special effect, I get to have it attack your life points directly!" Just like with her previous turn, the spectral rabbit vanished, and once again it reappeared on Yugi's side of the field, taking a swiping kick at him, taking another piece out of his life points, knocking him down to half of what he had to start with. (LP: 4700 - 700: 4000). "And now, I'll end my turn by setting a spell or trap card face down, and that'll end things for this round for me." Setting the card down on her field, Ikuko smiled as her rabbit returned to it's base and vanished once more, returning the card to her hand yet again thanks to it's first effect.

Looking down at his duel disk as control returned to him for that turn, Yugi eyed his deck, taking a deep breath. 'I can come back from this. My deck hasn't let me down yet, and I don't see it starting now,' he thought to himself. Closing his eyes, he drew his next card and held it up, opening them again slowly to see what he'd drawn. "Alright, here we go!" Yugi declared, smirking a bit, "I play the spell card, Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards from my deck!" Playing the card from his hand, Yugi's field lit up for a moment, revealing the rather creepy faced green ornate pot on his side of the field, which seemed to chuckle wickedly for a moment before shattering, allowing Yugi to draw two more cards from his deck, adding them to his hand. "Next, I play another spell card, Card Destruction," he said, putting it into play as well, causing the spell to appear on the field. "Thanks to this card, we both discard our entire hands to the graveyard, then draw the same amount of cards from our decks." Taking his entire hand, Yugi inserted it into the graveyard slot on his duel disk, discarding three cards in total before drawing from his deck until he had the same amount.

Forced to comply with the effect of the card Yugi had played, Ikuko discarded the three cards in her hand, including her Inaba White Rabbit, and drew three more cards of her own. 'So much for my big plan,' she thought briefly, watching and seeing what he did next.

"Now then, since I resolved the problem of your spirit monster returning once again, time to take care of your Marshmallon as well," Yugi said before pointing to one of his face down monsters, "by flip summoning one of my face down monsters, Old Vindictive Magician!" Flipping face up on the field, the card Yugi chose flashed briefly, taking on the form on a grizzled old man with long stringy hair in red robes and armor, clutching a tall green ornate staff with a glowing orb on the tip. (450/600) "And since my magician was flipped face up, his special effect is activated, letting me destroy one of my opponent's monsters, and since you only have one on the field, I choose your Marshmallon!" With a strained groan, the elderly magician stretched out his hand, pointing his walking staff at the amorphous blob as the tip glowed brightly, and Ikuko could only watch on and gasp as the rubbery creature gave a brief shriek as it was engulfed with a green aura, before shattering into a cloud of pixels.

"My Marshmallon might be gone now, but it won't be forgotten, and it won't have been taken down in vain either," Ikuko said, pointing to one of her two face down cards. "Reveal trap card, Michizure!" She called out, causing the trap to rise up on her side of the field. "Since a monster was sent from the field to my graveyard, Michizure gets activated, letting me destroy one monster on the field, and I just happen to choose the strongest one out there, namely your great big Buster Blader!" As she made her decision, the trap card glowed the same bright green that Yugi's Old Vindictive Magician's staff had moments before her Marshmallon had been destroyed, causing the ground to rumble underneath the dragon slayer before splitting open, causing him to fall to his doom, much to Yugi's obvious shock.

"Very good, you got rid of my Buster Blader, but I still have someone else I can use," Yugi said with a determined smile, plucking a card out of his hand, "because now, I'll sacrifice my Old Vindictive Magician and one of my face down monsters in order to bring out the star of my deck, and a card I had promised to let you see. Come forth, Dark Magician!" As Yugi sent the two monster cards to his graveyard, both of their images vanished from the field in a flash of mystical golden light, as a form appeared from out of the source of that light, brandishing a long green staff and dressed in dark purple robes and a spiral style armored hood over his face, hovering in place and wielding his staff with a single hand. (2500/2100) "And thanks to my Sangan's special effect, since it was sent from the field to the graveyard, I get to add one monster from my deck to my hand with a thousand attack points or less." Removing his deck from it's slot for a moment, Yugi skimmed through it briefly before plucking a card out of it and adding it to his hand, before returning his deck to it's proper place inside of his duel disk.

Ikuko squealed, grinning a bit when Yugi brought out his trademark card, "He looks so amazing! I'm glad I could get to see it in person. Thank you, Yugi!"

Yugi blushed a bit, it wasn't often someone actually thanked him during a duel for summoning a monster card, let alone the person he was dueling against for that matter. "Eh heh, you're welcome Ikuko, after all, I did say I'd try to if I could."

"Well, it's definitely nice to see you're a young man of your word," she replied, giggling softly. "Usagi's actually got one of those in her deck, but it's still pretty amazing to see the most famous one in action."

"Yeah, I guess so," Yugi nodded, smiling back at her, "but now, I really get to show him off with what I'm going to do next. Sorry about this, but... Dark Magician, attack Ikuko's life points directly! Dark Magic Attack!" He called out after pointing towards her, and the powerful spellcaster nodded in kind. Raising his staff high, he leaped high into the air and twirled the long ornate staff around, shouting out before letting loose a magical blast of energy, which rockettd towards Ikuko like a glowing green flare.

"Eep!" Ikuko cried out, holding her duel disk in front of herself as a makeshift shield as the blast connected with her side of the field, taking a significant hit to her life points because of it. (LP: 7050 - 2500: 4550)

"Mama!" Usagi cried out when the attack hit, losing the grin that had been on her face just moments ago. It had been rather amazing to know she did in fact share a monster or two with him, even if hers was one of the ones with different artwork, having been thrilled to see Yugi finally bring out his signature card out to play, at least until it was put to use against her own mother. On the other hand, this was also one of the cards that was usually his trump card, meaning when he did get it on the field, the odds of him winning did tend to up significantly. 'Mom's still got a bit of a chance to beat him since her life points are higher, especially if she got anything good from when he used Card Destruction,' the blonde teen thought, turning her attention back to the duel, 'but since he got that out..' she trailed off, shaking her head. 'No, mama can still win, we have to have faith in her.'

When the smoke cleared, Yugi looked over at his fellow duelist, seeming a little concerned himself. "Sorry about that, Ikuko, but I had to take advantage of your bare defenses. We are trying to win a game, after all," he said apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck a bit with his free hand.

Straightening up a bit herself, Ikuko nodded her head, smiling a little weakly, "R-Right.. I kind of forgot about that for a moment, I think I got a little distracted. No harm done."

"Well, that's good to know at least," Yugi said, sounding a bit relieved, before continuing onward with the remainder of his turn, "I set a spell or trap card face down, and end my turn." Setting the card down on the field, the teen duelist turned control back to Ikuko once again. As back and forth as it had been, he'd really been enjoying himself, since it wasn't often a newcomer could give him a really good challenge like this.

'Well, after seeing her daughter and son dueling back at your grandfather's shop several times, perhaps her family simply has an affinity for the game,' Yami threw in, chuckling softly. He'd also been enjoying this himself, glad to see his partner having a chance to relax and just enjoy the game for being a good game, and not having a great deal at stake in the event that they did possibly lose.

'Could be, could be,' Yugi smiled with that thought.

Looking down at her hand, Ikuko didn't have a lot to work with, and that worried her a bit. 'Depending on how the next turn or two goes, this is either going to make it or break it for me,' she thought, glancing down at her deck before putting her finger tips on the end of it, drawing her next card. Finally looking at what she'd gotten, Ikuko's worried look faded for a moment, though she still didn't know if this would help her or hurt her. 'Well, only one way to find out, just have to have faith in myself and in these cards of mine,' she thought before she made her move. "I'm going to use the same spell card you did last turn Yugi, and play Pot of Greed!" As she spoke, the creepy grinning pot appeared on her side of the field, laughing darkly before shattering into pixilated pieces, allowing Ikuko to draw two more cards. 'Alright, moment of truth, what did I get?' she thought to herself as she held the two cards up to her face, and gasped. '... This is it! This is really it! I think I've got just what I need!'

Seeing the look on their mother's face from the cards she drew, Usagi looked up at Shingo, "Mom looks like she got something really good."

Shingo nodded his head, thinking the same thing as his older sister. "Yeah she does. I wonder if it'll be enough though. Her and Yugi are pretty close in life points, and with him outnumbering her in monsters and having his Dark Magician on the field, this could get really close, may even be her last chance."

Usagi nodded, clenching her fists, before shouting out yet again, "You can do it Mama! I know you can beat Yugi! We both believe in you!"

'They're right. This one's acted like it could go either way. I'm feeling excited for both of them,' Anzu thought as she smiled, watching both siblings supporting their mother, and thinking about how the duel had gone on even as she cheered her best friend on as well.

Getting herself back in the game, Ikuko continued on with her turn, feeling like this was going to be the moment of truth for her in this duel. "Alright, here goes something... I summon Winged Kuriboh in Attack Mode!" Playing the card from her hand, it wasn't long before the monster itself appeared on her field. A little brown furred ball with two sets of front and rear green clawed legs, big cute blue eyes, and a pair of white angel wings on either side of it's beach ball sized body, it hovered in the air in front of Ikuko, making soft 'kuri' sounds as it stared at everyone before it. (300/200) "And now, I end my turn!" She chimed in, letting control return to Yugi yet again, looking quite pleased with herself, even as the rest of the crowd seemed thrown off by this odd move.

Looking fairly surprised, Yugi did a double take for a moment, making sure he was seeing things correctly, "Winged... Kuriboh?" He questioned, tilting his head a bit at the little flying fur ball. He'd remembered hearing something about other Kuriboh cards being released, but he'd never actually found any of them up until this point. 'Still, a bit strange that she'd play it in attack mode, it has to be a trap,' he thought as he decided what to do, drawing his next card in the meantime. 'Well, if she has something in mind, she's likely going to try it regardless of what I do, so might as well go all out for it,' he mused before plucking a card from his hand and making his move. "I play Monster Reborn, to revive my Buster Blader from the graveyard in attack mode!" Playing the spell card from his hand, it briefly appeared on the field before vanishing, and soon enough the armored dragon slayer returned from his graveyard to his side of the field, ready to battle on yet again.  
(2600/2300) "Now then, Buster Blader, attack Ikuko's Winged Kuriboh!"

"Not so fast, Yugi! Reveal spell card, Transcendent Wings!" Ikuko called out, as the face down card on her field rose up behind her Winged Kuriboh. "Thanks to this, by sending Winged Kuriboh from my field and two cards from my hand to the graveyard, I can summon another monster, Winged Kuriboh LV10!" As she discarded two cards from her hand to the graveyard, Winged Kuriboh let out a loud 'kuri!' as it began to glow brightly, it's wings growing larger and fuller as it took on a great metamorphosis, gaining another set of legs, long white tail feathers as well as three different golden scaled tails, and a long golden dragon-like headdress as well above it's regular furry blue eyed bodl. (300/200). Giving a delighted squeal, Ikuko jumped for joy, definitely pleased with herself. "I can't believe it, I actually summoned it! I didn't think things would come together this well!" She said happily.

"Okay, now I'm confused," Anzu said, eyeing the strange leveled up form of the winged version of Kuriboh with obvious interest. "It definitely looks more menacing, but it's attack and defense are still the same. Surely there must be more to it than that."

"Oh there is," Shingo said, hearing Anzu's observations, and getting both her and his sister's attention at the same time.

"What's so special about it, Shingo?" Usagi asked, tilting her head curiously.

"I remember getting that card, but I didn't have all the pieces for it, but I guess mom managed to get them together, otherwise we wouldn't be seeing this right now," the young duelist said. "Like Ms. Anzu said, it's attack and defense aren't much, but it's effect is out of this world!"

"You don't mean.." Usagi started to say, but Shingo nodded, cutting her off before speaking again.

"Unless Yugi has something to stop it, Mom's got the duel won," Shingo said, hardly able to believe it himself, "Mom is going to beat Yugi!"

Smiling brightly, Ikuko was almost shaking with anticipation. "As I said, I didn't think I'd get a chance to use this one, but now, it's going to be just what I need to win this duel," she said, explaining things to him and everyone else, "Thanks to the effect of my Winged Kuriboh LV10, during my opponent's battle phase, I can tribute Winged Kuriboh LV10 to send it from the field to the graveyard to destroy all face-up monsters on my opponent's side of the field, and then inflict damage to their life points equal to the combined original attacks of all of their destroyed monsters!" Grinning from ear to ear, Ikuko spoke up once more, looking back at Yugi, "Thank you Yugi for giving me this chance today, I'd have never thought in a million years I'd come this close, you don't know how much this means to me. It's been a great load of fun, so I hope there are no hard feelings for what's coming next, okay?"

Looking stunned for a moment, the crowd turned their attention to Yugi, looking to see what his response was going to be. Lifting his head up, Yugi returned the smile that Ikuko had given him, nodding his head, "You're right Ikuko, this has been a lot of fun. It's been nice to duel someone for the fun of it again and without anything really crazy happening along with it... which makes me almost regret what I've got to do now... reveal trap card, Skill Drain!" Calling out the card's name, it rose up from it's face down position on Yugi's field, revealing itself to him and for all those around to see. "Thanks to this card, by giving up 1000 life points, the effects of all face up effect monsters on the field are negated, including your Winged Kuriboh LV10!" As the trap took effect, Yugi watched his life points tick down by the allotted amount, and looked back at Ikuko's side of the field, as Winged Kuriboh LV10 glowed briefly, giving a weakened 'Kuriii' as it's effect was canceled out. (LP:4000 - 1000: 3000) "Now then, since you can't use it's effect anymore, there's nothing stopping me from attacking your Winged Kuriboh LV10 with my Buster Blader," the younger duelist grinned, giving the attack orders once more as he had when he'd started that turn, letting the armored warrior knight charge into battle yet again, bringing it's sword crashing down on the weakened winged monster, destroying it with an echoing 'kuriiii' as the difference in attack points was dealt to Ikuko's life points. (LP: 4500 - 2300: 2250) "And now that your field is completely cleared out, I'll end this with the help of my old friend," Yugi said, calling on his remaining monster, "Dark Magician, attack her life points directly! Dark Magic Attack!" Hearing his orders, the great spell caster vanished briefly, only to reappear on Ikuko's field, staff raised high over his head with one hand, giving a cry as the energy that had built up within the head of the staff was released, sending things off with a bang as the area around the elder duelist's field was struck, finishing off the duel as the last of her life points were eliminated. (LP: 2250 - 2500: 0)

A hush fell over the crowd as the duel came to an end, with everyone watching as the lights and smoke cleared and the holograms faded away. Then, slowly at first, the crowd began to roar loudly, cheering and chanting at deafening levels for both competitors, not just Yugi, but for Ikuko as well, having enjoyed the roller coaster of a duel from start to finish.

Rushing from their spots on the sidelines, Anzu, Usagi, and Shingo ran up to the two duelists, with the brother and sister duo practically pouncing their mother as the group gathered together.

"Mama, that was amazing! I didn't know you could duel like that! You were incredible!" Usagi cried out, hugging her mother tight.

"Yeah, you nearly had Yugi there! Heck, you DID have him there! I can't believe my mom was that close to beating the number one duelist in the world!" Shingo exclaimed, grinning happily alongside his big sister.

"They're both right," Yugi smiled, offering a courteous hand to Ikuko, "you were incredible back there. Like I said earlier, you have plenty to be proud of today."

Blushing hotly, Ikuko smiled and took the offered hand, "Why thank you. I'm just glad I got the chance and had the nerve to even ask. I never won any contests or games growing up, and to come as close as I did, it makes me feel just amazing. I wish I could do it all over again."

Laughing a bit, the tricolored teen smiled, "Well, if you ever want the chance, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to go another round with you another time, it was a lot of fun."

"Oh that'd be wonderful!" Ikuko chimed, and reaching out, she hugged the younger boy tightly, practically lifting him off his feet as she embraced him, "We'll definitely have to do it again sometime!"

Blushing bright red, Yugi laughed weakly, "Y-Yeah, definitely."

Setting him back down on his feet, Ikuko smiled a bit before remembering something. "Oh right, I almost forgot about this!" Reaching into the top of her dress, she plucked out what appeared to be two cards, one a normal Duel Monsters card, and the other a clear one with a small marker on it. "I know we didn't say anything about it to start, but I do remember what the rules said. Whomever wins, gets not only a locator card, but also gets one of the rare cards from the losing duelist." Taking Yugi's hand, she puts both of them into his palm and closes his fingers around it, smiling softly to him, "There you go!"

Blinking a bit, having briefly forgotten about that himself, Yugi looked down at his hand, holding up the locator card before pocketing it, then looking at the card she'd given him. "... oh wow! Are you sure you want to part with this, Ikuko?"

Giving a gentle nod, the mother of two smiled, "I think you'll find a better use for it than I will, Yugi. Just promise to take good care of it, okay?"

Nodding as well, Yugi smiled as he took out his deck from it's place inside his duel disk, shuffling the card into it before placing it back inside. "I promise, it's in really good hands," he said.

"I don't doubt that for a minute," Ikuko smiled before glancing at her watch, flicking her wrist to straighten it out. "Hmm... I know it's still a bit early, but would anyone like to grab a quick bite? I know most places are going to be packed with all the duelists and fans roaming around by the time noon hits, so maybe heading out now would be best."

"Hmm, I guess so," Yugi thought about it for a moment, before turning and looking up at Anzu, "How about you Anzu, are you hungry any?"

Shaking her head, the brunette smiled, "Not really, but I could go for something to drink."

Ikuko smiled, looking back at her son and daughter, "How about you two, does grabbing an early lunch sound good?"

"Yeah!" Both Usagi and Shingo said in unison, much to the amusement of the small group.

"Well, I guess it's decided," Ikuko smiled, and the five of them took off together to try their luck with the crowds at the nearest eatery, as one duel ended and a few new friendships began.

-o-o-o-

Back at Kaiba Corp H.Q., both of the Kaiba brothers finished watching the feed from the duel between Yugi and Ikuko, with the two of them having mixed responses to it.

"Wow Seto, that was awesome!" Mokuba exclaimed, having been on the edge of his seat at the very end. "Did you see how close Yugi came to losing, and to a complete unknown at that. That was just crazy!"

Giving a nod, Seto chuckled a bit, actually fairly impressed all things considered, even if he didn't seem to share his younger brother's enthusiasm nearly as much. "I'd say it shows you cannot judge someone by their record, but then I think you'd use it against me when you defend Katsuya."

The younger Kaiba brother just laughed, since it wasn't often his brother actually cracked something that resembled a joke. "So what now big brother?"

"Hmm," the elder Kaiba brother started to say, only to be cut off by a random alarm going off. Heading back to the nearest control panel, he tapped a finger keys as he tried to bring up the cause.

"Mr. Kaiba," a different tech girl than the one from earlier spoke up, "it appears someone has tried to... no, successfully broken into the Kaiba Corp duelist mainframe!"

"I can see that," he yelled out, "can you find out where it's coming from, and lock them out?"

"Negative sir," she responded, hands moving as fast as they can over her keyboard, "the signal's location is blocked, and none of the firewalls are stopping it!"

"Are you telling me that with all of this million dollar tech inside of this command center, you can't find and stop one lousy hacker from waltzing through our files?" Seto said, sounding plenty furious over this.

"I'm sorry sir, it just came out of nowhere... wait," she started to say again, looking through the information on her screen. "Sir, they're gone! The hacker is gone!"

"Just like that? Can't you trace them back?" Mokuba asked, looking just as concerned as his brother did at this sudden intrusion into their thought to be well protected servers.

"It's incredible, there's almost no sign they were even here," the female tech responded, running a full scan and checking for anything out of place. "There doesn't appear to be anything wrong here, no viruses or anything... it does appear though that they copied several files, including the complete list of duelists in the tournament's database, but nothing seems to be missing or added in."

"Great, just wonderful," Kaiba groaned, "keep working on it, all of you. I want to know who the hell had the balls to try and break into my company's computers, and I want to know it yesterday!" Turning around, the young CEO started to storm off, briefcase clasped tightly in hand. "Come on Mokuba, we're going."

Looking surprised, Mobuba looked up at his brother, following after him, "But Seto, shouldn't we stay and work too? This could be serious!"

"I know, and it is serious," Seto replied, "They copied the list of duelists over, so whomever is responsible must be plotting something to do with the tournament, and if that's the case, they're likely out there among all of those people. If that's so, then we need to be out there as well." Waiting for Mobuba to catch up with him, Seto opened the elevator and stepped, holding it open until both of them were inside, "and when our people do find them, I plan to deal with them personally. No one steals from our company and gets away with it, not on my watch!"

To be continued...

-o-o-o-

Dun dun dun...

Holy crap, that was a long one! I can't believe I put that much into just one chapter! ONE SINGLE CHAPTER! Oh my god!

Man, thank you all for putting up with my delays and waiting for this for so long. I promise I'm going to do everything I can to get the next one out to you much, much sooner. Hell, I'd already begun writing the next one while I was in the middle of this one, so it's under way already at least.

Again, thank you all, thank you for the reviews, for watching me on here, for everything! I know this was probably the most outlandish duel you could've possibly imagined, but it's been fun, and that's all that matters.

So, I know you're already asking, what's going to happen next? Who broke into the Kaiba Corp computers? Who's going to duel next? Whatever happened to Mamoru? When will I update again? All these answers and more, when chapter fourteen of "Sailor Soldiers and Duel Monsters" comes your way, hopefully very soon! Like, I'm giving myself til the end of March to pull this off, that's how soon I'm hoping to make this happen, giving way for the holidays and anything else that might be happening, including the fact I might be moving in December. But yes, I'm already hard at work on the next chapter, so all things willing it should be out much, much sooner than this one was. Keep reading, keep reviewing, and keep your eyes peeled! Thank you, and good night!

~JayManney4Life


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